Paradigm of the Rose
by AManwithaB0x
Summary: Worlds beyond worlds, stretching further than we could ever imagine. Lost within infinity, divided they stand - join our heroines as they find new friends, old allies, and forces of darkness that threaten them all. This multiverse epic will feature several AU-versions of Ruby Rose... all together. The universe will never be the same.
1. The Arrival

(12/19 update: Story rating changed to M. Does not affect the first 21 chapters - they're still rated T.)

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 _5:46 AM, Saturday Morning  
Beacon Academy West Courtyard, Front Gate_

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The noise of the nearby city of Vale was too far away to be heard from the gates of Beacon Academy even during the busiest times of day; and this early in the morning, all you could hear were songbirds. There was also a breeze that sighed by every so often, but other than that it was as quiet as a tomb. The rising sun was in the midst of chasing away the darkness of night and, along with it, the brilliant colors of the sunrise. It was the kind of morning that serious artists and photographers would get out of bed early for.

Beacon did not have flowers at the front gate (there were trees, but there were no blossoms on any of them), yet it was also far enough separated from the airship dock that the breeze carried no smell of oil or machinery. It was a wonderful and terribly uncommon form of fresh air.

This was the setting that met her gaze as she slowly walked into the main courtyard and stopped before the stone statue - the one that depicted two huntsman standing in noble pride while a creature of Grimm growled menacingly from beneath. She never did figure out who carved it.

The woman stood no more than 5' 4" but had the air of someone who could fill a room with her presence alone. She wore a long white lab coat that almost reached her knees over top of a red, short-sleeved blouse and a black, knee-length pleated skirt. Her short leather boots only added an inch or so to her height. She also had on a fresh pair of black leggings. She had a few pens and a scroll-like device in the chest pocket – she would be the first to tell you that it was a much more advanced model.

The woman looked up at the highest tower of the school, her eyes drinking in every detail. She let out a gentle sigh, then pulled her device from it's pocket with her right hand, hitting a few buttons and nodding at the results. Her left hand absently scratched the back of her head, causing the dark, shoulder-length hair to sway. The red highlights really stood out in the lingering glow of the sunrise. It was actually a dark red color, but most of the time it looked black with red tips.

"One-Eight-Zero-Two, just as planned," she quietly intoned to herself. The scroll was quickly returned to it's place. "So nostalgic..." She looked up again, the still-orange sky making her silver eyes glitter with anticipation behind her wire-frame glasses.

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 _8:23 AM, Same day  
City of Vale, Central Square Shopping Plaza_

...

Team RWBY sat at a round table in the food court, eyeing a set of cards that Ruby had laid out on the table. There were 8 cards in total, each one larger than normal trading or playing cards. All bore a stunning piece of artwork on the surface. And each one seemed to hold some kind of …special secret. That's what the four of them had been told, anyway.

The girls had just come out of a strange little shop that sold what they called 'novelty occult items.' There was nothing serious, like Ouija boards, but just fun little things; glow in the dark crystal balls and fancy wall art of pentagrams or paintings of demons, among other things.

What caught Ruby's eye, though, was a box of trading card packages in the back of the room, behind the check-out counter. The old lady who ran the store was eager to serve, using what _looked_ like a semblance to select just the right pack. As she rang up their purchase, the woman was saying that the cards within the pack were relevant to the future of team RWBY. At the time, they didn't think anything of it.

Four girls, eight cards. They had already planned to split them up, and that meant each teenager got two cards. Now they just had to pick.

The shortest of the girls, Ruby Rose, picked first. "This one looks cool," she said with a smile. She wore her usual outfit today, a gothic-style black outfit with a combat skirt and knee-high leather boots. Over it all was her trademark bright red cloak with a hood. The midday sunshine glittered in her dark red hair.

The card she picked up bore the image of a large wildcat in a pose that would suggest it was climbing down from a tree. It had stripes like a tiger, but was more reddish in color. It's eyes were a blazing, fiery red color. The background featured a starry night sky. The words _The Beast_ sat at the bottom of the card. "I like kitties, so …why not?" She muttered mostly to herself.

"Well I know which one _I_ want…" Yang Xiao Long reached out and grabbed her first card. She also had on the outfit she considered her 'standard' – tall boots, black shorts, and a low-cut yellow blouse under a cropped leather jacket. Her favorite orange scarf lay around her neck and her two golden bracelets adorned her wrists.

Yang's card depicted a well-muscled young man in a boxing pose, both fists close to his face for protection. All around him was a jungle environment. The words _The Fighter_ were written across the bottom. She grinned as she examined it and wolf-whistled, saying, "My kind of guy."

Blake Belladonna could only roll her eyes, "Why am I not surprised?" The only faunus in the group continued to keep her ears hidden beneath a large black bow, but the others had gotten used to that by this point. The rest of her outfit was a combination of black and white pieces, with very little color. The brunette reached over and grabbed a card for herself, quietly musing, "I guess I'll take this one…" In her defense, Blake wasn't really looking at what she grabbed.

The card depicted two figures, both androgynous and lacking any distinguishing features, and both in what could only be called a …passionate embrace. The focus of the image was on the shorter of the two with the taller being partially cut off at the edge. Behind them was a field of royal purple with a velvety texture. _The Lover_ was emblazoned across the bottom of the card.

Yang noticed the slip-up, naturally – the blonde brawler put on a cheeky grin and waggled her eyebrows obnoxiously. The brunette glared as her face went flush with embarrassment. Ever since she had discovered Blake's hidden copy of _Ninjas of Love,_ Yang had become insufferable. More than normal, anyway. She never missed an opportunity to poke fun at her partner, but at least she was keeping it low-key for now.

The fourth member of the team glowed in the sunshine, mostly due to her white-themed look. Boots, combat skirt, Bolero jacket – all white. The only bit of color was the inside of the jacket, which showed a bright red around her collar. In contrast to her clean, immaculate appearance, Weiss Schnee was also on the path to becoming a proper Huntress just like the rest of her team. "I suppose I'll take…" the long white ponytail swayed as the girl looked back and forth, then said, "…this one."

The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company selected a card that depicted a line of medieval knights in plate metal armor, all bearing sword and shield and all battle ready. All but the foremost knight bore shiny new suits of armor; the one closest to the front had clearly been through it's fair share of combat. This card read _The Soldier_ at the bottom.

The girl didn't say it out loud, but looking at this card made Weiss think of her older sister. It was a comforting feeling. Winter was the only member of her family that Weiss could stand being around for more than five minutes.

"Ooh, I know! Now we pick one for our partners!" Ruby piped up quickly, the idea just now hitting her. Sensing no resistance, the girl in the red cloak snatched up another card and presented it to her own partner. "For the girl who sees all," she said solemnly.

This card bore the image of a great eye floating above a detailed cityscape with a backdrop showing a vast field of stars. If you looked close enough, you might have thought you could see the silhouette of Beacon amidst the buildings along the bottom. The card was called _The Watcher._

The heiress was less than thrilled and groaned, "Bleh, an eyeball…" She then whipped around with a light blush and quickly squawked, "Ruby _Rose!_ You don't mean to say that I … _peep_ , do you?!"

The redhead choked and sputtered, "Ack, no! No-no-no-no-no!" Frantic arm waving, then, "I just meant… uh, I mean…"

"I think she means to say that you don't miss a chance to correct our mistakes," Blake offered.

Yang grinned, "Blake to the rescue!"

Weiss puffed her cheeks in annoyance - apparently that reason wasn't much better – just as Yang grabbed another card and handed it to Blake. The picture on this one displayed a cloaked figure standing in the middle of a gigantic, ruined clock face. The figure's tattered robes hid any distinguishing features underneath. There was mist in the background, obscuring whatever lay beyond. "For the girl who still has plenty of mysteries," the blonde said. The card read _The Eternal_ along the bottom.

"Creepy, …but cool." Coming from Blake, Yang could only take that as a compliment. She grinned mightily.

There were now only two cards left, and Weiss jumped at one, "I think we can all agree who gets this one…" and handed it to the leader of team RWBY. This card depicted a single blood-red rose, in full bloom, over a field of white. Numerous thorns encircled it at a distance. The rose was rendered in stunning detail, and the words _The Rose_ adorned the bottom.

"Of course," Yang and Blake intoned in stereo. Ruby accepted the gift with a grin. Seriously, who else would take a card like that? It _literally_ had her name on it.

That left just one card, and all four occupants of the table looked at it and sighed. This was the one card none of them wanted. Reluctantly, and because she was last, Blake handed it to Yang.

The final card bore the creepiest image thus far; a happy-face mask, seemingly made out of porcelain or glass, with a large crack down the middle. All around it were shards of other materials, such as rocks and dirt, and spots of what could have been dried blood - the art style was a bit less detailed than some of the other cards, so it was hard to tell. This card simply read _The Broken._

Upon taking the card, the blonde visibly shivered. " _Whoa_ … feels like someone just walked over my grave…" No one laughed as she rubbed her arms, trying to drive away the goosebumps. "Hey, Ruby, wanna trade this for… what did you have… the cat?"

"Nope," she answered, popping the 'p' sound.

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 _2:21 PM  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Rooftop Balcony_

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The day had warmed up considerably since this morning, but it was still lovely weather. It was one of those days that Ruby couldn't resist just …wasting. She and Blake had both selected a book and moved their reading to the balcony area on the roof of the dorms. This was the same place that Jaune and Pyrrha, members of their sister team JNPR, had practiced their swordplay for a few weeks.

Looking around, Ruby realized, it really wasn't a balcony - it was just a roof. There was nothing more than a few air conditioning units up here. There wasn't even safety rails. Of course, that didn't stop several of the other students from bringing a couple of chairs and a table out here. It had become quite popular in the last week or so, with students using it to simply _get away_ for a while.

Ruby and Blake had the place to themselves for the time being, and that was just fine with them. Like all good things, however, their solitude also came to an end when the door opened for Lie Ren, the quietest member of team JNPR. What was strange was that Nora Valkyrie, his childhood friend-slash-parasite, was not with him.

Seeing their looks of confusion, Ren simply shrugged and said, "She's taking a nap."

"And you escaped for a few minutes," Blake finished.

"Pretty much." The boy with a streak of pink amidst his black hair walked to the edge of the roof and stretched, his long arms reaching high as his back made audible popping sounds. "It's nice out here," he sighed.

The two girls silently nodded, not looking up from their books. No one moved for a few blessed minutes as the breeze drifted by.

"Oh, Ruby…" Ren looked over at the younger girl in the deck chair. "Nora said she saw someone today who looked just like you. Somewhere in the back of the campus, I think."

"'Looked like me?'" The redhead saved her place with a bookmark, her attention now fully on the older boy. "How so?"

"She said the woman had the same hair as you, but she didn't get close enough to see any other details," Ren pointed at the girl's head for emphasis. "Same style and color, evidently."

"Huh, that's unusual," Ruby's face scrunched. "I wonder who it was?"

"Wanna go find out?" Blake offered. She stood up, also stretching. "We _have_ been sitting for a while now, and I need to move around a bit…"

"Sounds like a plan." Rising to join her teammate, Ruby looked back at Ren and said, "Don't leave her alone for too long…" she grinned. They all knew exactly who she was talking about. It wasn't a good idea to leave Nora unsupervised.

The taller boy sighed, "Yeah, I know…" as the girls made their way to ground level.

It went without saying that everyone was still tired. It had barely been a week since the White Fang, led by the 'master criminal' Roman Torchwick, had crashed a train car from an old underground tunnel into the middle of the city of Vale. This had allowed around 10 metric _tons_ of Grimm to come pouring in through the new opening.

The Breach, as it had come to be called, had the potential to be far worse than it turned out - and it was only thanks to the efforts of team RWBY holding the line that reinforcements arrived in time to prevent a complete disaster. At the end of the day there were no deaths, Huntsman or otherwise, and as far as Professor Ozpin was concerned, _that_ was the only number that truly mattered.

Three teams were the most involved and, as a result, were allowed a period of rest: Team RWBY, team JNPR, and the second-year team CFVY.

Leaving Ren to fend for himself, Ruby and Blake headed for the Pavilion. Nora had said 'the back of the campus,' so that was the most likely place their mysterious look-alike would be… assuming she was _real_ , that is.

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 _2:40 PM  
Beacon Academy East Courtyard, The Pavilion_

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The Pavilion was one of the few places on the campus where people could go and just relax - it was not a multi-use facility like nearly every other spot on campus. Tree-lined paths gently curved around small hills dotted with small statues and flower beds, and a small creek trickled it's way through the middle of it. Benches were frequent along the trails, giving visitors plenty of places to rest. At the center of the area was an expanse of pavers with numerous tables and chairs, forming a common area that was often used for picnics and larger get-togethers. It even hosted a school-wide chess tournament a few years back.

The sight that greeted the two teens made them think that even this sacred place was no longer safe from 'urban development.'

The tables had been cleared away to make room for something straight out of a science-fiction comic book. A mammoth device had been built in the center of the area that resembled a large ...gate? An empty door frame? Ruby had never seen anything quite like it so making a good comparison was rather difficult. Numerous large pipes and cables ran from the base of the device to a nearby set of metallic boxes - the younger girl guessed that this was the 'control center.' There were also a large number of structures that looked like antennas. The smaller girl quickly glanced at the sky to check for any flying saucers that might be circling overhead.

When Ruby and Blake first rounded the corner and saw all of this, they actually noticed _two_ figures present, and one of them was clearly Nora's look-alike. Even from several yards away, Ruby could recognize her own hairstyle. The 'clone' was wearing some kind of lab coat, though, so it wasn't _that_ creepy.

A second, smaller girl in a tattered red cloak that was _way_ too similar to Ruby's was standing in the center of the gate-looking device. The hood was raised, so the face was obscured by the shadows. The first figure hit a few buttons at the control center, the device appeared to charge itself up, and then…

The smaller figure vanished in a burst of light. There was no noise.

Both Ruby and Blake froze, eyes wide with shock. Neither of them were certain if they had just witnessed a miracle of modern science or a straight-up murder. This meant that neither of them noticed the first figure turn and walk towards them. Nor did they see her smile in an …eerily familiar way.

"Well, …you guys are early."

Blake snapped out of her trance hard. There was no mistaking that voice, even if it had aged a few years… this woman sounded exactly like Ruby!

The faunus tried to speak, but found her voice to be a bit rebellious. Ruby found she had no such problem as she gasped, "Wh-what… what did… wh-where… how the… _What the hell?"_

"I promise I'll explain everything," the look-alike said quickly, "just ...give me a chance, okay?" Relieved that the teens no longer looked like they would run screaming into the hills, the mysterious woman extended a hand to the redheaded teenager, her glasses gleaming in the sunlight. "Ruby Rose of Remnant-1802, I am Ruby Rose of Remnant-5815. Nice to meet you."

Getting no immediate reaction, the duplicate Ruby grinned and added, "And in case you're wondering, I'm 27 years old and a fully-accredited doctor, as well as a professor of Multi-Dimensional Theory."

Blake's jaw basically hit the ground. Never one to be outdone, Ruby let her entire body do the same.

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 _6:31 PM  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor – Team RWBY Dorm Room_

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Ruby Rose - the younger Ruby - held an ice pack to her head. That fall was not a good idea. She was sitting on Weiss' bed next to the heiress, who wore a similar expression to her partner. She looked like her skull was soon to erupt. Blake and Yang sat on the lower bunk opposite the other two, both with a simple look of pure shock. All of this was due to the room's… extra occupant.

"Wow, …I haven't seen you guys like this in so _long_ …" The 'older' Ruby was practically hopping around with glee. "This is so _cool!_ Weiss is still all, like, cold and sublimating, Blake is still all normopathic with a side of vellichor, and Yang's a _total_ -"

"Okay, whoa whoa _WHOA!_ Slow down there, professor!" Yang had just about had enough of the newcomer using such ...exaggerated speech. "Smaller words please. Some of us here don't have our doctorates yet." Despite her reputation as 'the blonde brawler,' Yang was really very smart - she was easily holding high grades on pretty much all of her classes thus far and she actually enjoyed language arts to a certain point (although history was the bane of her existence). But even so, this woman was testing her patience.

The 'professor' cringed once she realized her mistake. "Sorry… heh heh. I guess I got a little carried away…" She scratched the back of her head, then tried again, "I just got so worked up, I mean I haven't seen you guys in, like, years! Seriously Yang, don't be so _irascible_ …"

The blonde actually _snarled_ and started to lunge at the older woman, but Blake held her down with a firm grip on the shoulder. Lavender eyes flashed crimson as Yang crossed her arms and muttered, "Now she's doing that on _purpose_ …"

Blake had to hide her grin, and almost laughed out loud at the mental image of Yang in a fur tunic growling _'Big words make me angry!'_

Ruby spoke up for the first time since they all got into the room, "So… you're me from …the future?" She looked up at her 'older self' and put on a confused look. "But why are you here? Are you trying to prevent some kind of …futuristic worldwide disaster? Won't your presence in the past have some sort of butterfly effect?"

Everyone in the room was now looking at the shorter redhead in a mixture of shock and confusion. Ruby had _clearly_ been watching too many sci-fi movies lately.

"Hoo-boy… where do I even begin?" The older Ruby grabbed the desk chair and sat backwards in it so she could face the center of the room. She rubbed her temples before she started speaking, "Well I managed to convince Ozpin this morning, so I guess I can run through it again for you guys…" She grinned at Yang, "And I promise I'll keep the words as _short_ as I can."

A low growl was her only response. Everyone else waited eagerly for the stranger to speak.

"Okay, first I need to make sure we're all on the same page. For the time being, you can all call me ' **Carmine**.' It'll be a _bit_ less confusing than two people answering to 'Ruby.'"

The woman who now called herself Carmine pulled out her scroll (although it looked like the daddy of all scrolls, to be honest) and hit a few buttons. The device projected a hologram into the center of the room that showed a line extending from the outer edge towards the middle. "This chart represents the flow of a normal timeline – for lack of a better term. Everything you do from waking up… eating breakfast… going to class… etc."

With each example she pointed to a different area on the timeline, her finger creating circles along it's length. "Each event creates a temporal axis that branches off into a new timeline based on the choices you make…"

The line forked at each circle, a new line branching out from each point to flow parallel to the first. "And these lines also branch out…"

Similar circles formed on the new lines, also branching into their own lines. "And it just keeps going. Every choice you make creates a new timeline, each one with it's own distinct frequency. Each branch follows the events that occur as though you chose each unique choice."

She paused, adjusted her glasses and took a breath, then said, "And that's the basics of Multi-Dimensional Theory. Are you all still with me?"

Weiss was sitting on the edge of the bed, hanging on every word. Blake had a focused look on her face, clearly trying to process everything she'd heard thus far. Yang's face was blank, her eyes fully glazed over.

Ruby spoke next, saying, "So does that mean you're not from _my_ future, …or, that is to say, _this_ future?"

While the rest of the room was startled that the teenager understood so much, Carmine didn't bat an eye. "I'll get to that in a moment." She pressed another button and the view of the timeline zoomed out - _way_ out. What looked like a single tree branch quickly grew into a truly massive spiderweb of lines, all branching from single events. Everyone in the room gave a quiet gasp at the sight.

"The 'frequency' of this particular timeline is 1802, right…" she pointed to a seemingly random line, "…here," which then lit up, allowing it to stand out amidst the cluster of lines. "And _I'm_ from…" another line lit up, "…this one, 5815." The distance between the lines was rather large. "Our timelines divided a short while back …at least, by your reckoning."

Carmine sighed a bit, taking a breath. "It took me the better part of 10 years to isolate these frequencies and confirm my theory. Another two just to construct the transport system. I still have a lot to figure out with this stuff… the biggest mystery is exactly what I'm measuring the frequency _of_." She emphasized the final word by tossing her free hand into the air, then letting it fall to her side.

She closed the program and returned the scroll to her pocket with a flourish. "And as much as I'd like to explain further, I need to check on my equipment outside before I turn in for the night."

She walked to the door, but turned back to examine the faces of her former teammates. All had the expressions of people who would find sleep to be a luxury that would elude them this evening. Carmine grinned before saying, "Don't worry, I'll be sure to cure your _ellipsism_ tomorrow. Don't let Yang be too _implacable_ , okay?" and she quickly shut the door behind her.

Exactly three seconds after the lock clicked shut, Carmine heard a roar of frustration from Yang, followed by the sound of three teens trying to hold her down before she went tearing into the hallway. The woman could only chuckle in amusement, but as it continued she laughed harder and harder… and it seemed to get worse the more she laughed until she almost couldn't stand up. It had been five years since she'd seen her old team - but it had also been five years since she'd had any reason to laugh at all. This was something she'd sorely needed.

There would be time for the more … _important_ part of her story later.

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… … … … …

 **PARADIGM OF THE ROSE**

 **Chapter 1:** _  
_ **The Arrival**

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 _8:45 PM  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Guest Wing_

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Mercury and Emerald sat in total silence …well, almost.

The one noise in the room was the rhythmic tapping of the index finger of a certain highly powerful, and very _dangerous_ woman with black hair and blazing yellow eyes. The former assassin and thief, respectively, didn't even dare to _breathe_ too loudly.

The reason? Cinder Fall was _smiling_.

That meant they were in some _deep shit._

"So… let me get this straight… the program I entered into the CCT mainframe… the Queen Virus, that was supposed to be untouchable… is _gone_ …" It was less of a question and more of an accusation.

Emerald swallowed hard and wondered if she'd live long enough to actually fall asleep tonight.

Cinder picked up her scroll from the bed beside her and looked at the screen, trying in vain to tap or swipe away the image that was now repeating itself over and over. It cycled between two pictures - the first was an altered version of her hacking program's insignia of a chess piece, except this one had been broken in two, followed by a line art silhouette of a man standing next to a large cooking pot with a mustache and an angry look on his face. Beneath this was five large words in block lettering: NO ILLEGAL ACCESS FOR YOU!

"And this thing even locked me out…" Cinder simply could not get any reaction from the device in her hand.

Mercury dared to speak up next, offering, "There shouldn't be anyone on the planet capable of reverse-hacking to this extent, much less taking care of that program so quickly."

Cinder simply ignored him as she stared at the screen for several more minutes. Her anger finally fading, she intoned, "If there's a joke here... I do _not see_ it."

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* * *

 **A New Note from The Author:**

 **Welcome to the Multiverse!**

 **I know good and well that this story is probably too big for me. I know a concept like the multiverse is the kind of thing that can get super confusing when done wrong. I know I've promised something epic, and have yet to deliver.**

 **I also know that I'm** _ **not**_ **giving up.**

 **About a year ago, I was only four or five chapters into the story when something happened in my life that shook me up and almost left me mangled on the floor. It was truly a disaster. It was actually another author on this site, and my working on this story, that helped me pull through my depression.**

 **Nearly a month later, the situation was resolved. I still remember the pain I felt back then, and how much it helped to focus on this tale. I will never forget that it was this community that helped me pull through, even if most of you didn't know it. In return, I promise I will finish this story. I promise, to quote the illustrious Monty Oum, to** _ **keep moving forward.**_

 **=^w^=**

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 _ **Official Story Disclaimer (this will not be repeated):**_ _RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and the illustrious Monty Oum, may he rest in peace. Any semblance of scientific fact included in this story is almost entirely made up on the spot. The setting is meant to be canon up to the end of volume 2 of the show, and then spiraling far, far away from canon after that. Compass directions used were based on the brief shot of Vale's map from Volume 1 and are based on the idea that the Beacon Academy campus faces West. I claim only the original versions of Ruby Rose I have invented for the purposes of the story, unless otherwise noted. In that case I will give full credit to the original creator of that particular version. Salt and vinegar potato chips are rubbish. This story was conceived and written in the time period between the finale of volume 4 and the premiere of volume 5 on October 14th, 2017, ergo any information revealed after that point will not have been considered for the final story. Unless said information is worth the effort, I will not bother rewriting anything herein to accommodate it. I am Groot. Soup Nazi reference is from the TV show 'Seinfeld.' While I am a big fan of ships between characters, this story will focus more on the adventure and conflict between 'good' and 'evil' rather than relationships. Any song lyrics included in the story are the property of their respective copyright holders, I claim nothing since I can't write music to save my life. Full list of genres to be included in the final version of the story (as of this point in writing): Action, adventure, friendship, sci-fi, tragedy, parody, fantasy, family, and with a little bit of hurt/comfort and romance thrown in for good measure. I will neither confirm nor deny any claims that I was inspired by a certain American comic book series from 2012 involving a certain arachnid-based superhero involved in similar multiverse situations._


	2. They're Multiplying

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 _10:12 AM, Sunday Morning  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor - Team RWBY Dorm Room_

…

The sun had been up for several hours now. That was several more hours than team RWBY could boast.

It wasn't that they weren't awake… it was more like they simply didn't want to get out of bed. There was very little noise outside of their dorm room, what with it being the end of the weekend, so there wasn't anything to distract from the constant droning of everyone's regular breathing. Every so often a bird would perch just outside their fourth floor window and sing a merry little tune, but it never lasted more than a minute or two. Then it was back to silence.

Once the initial shock of yesterday had worn off, none of the teens could quite bring themselves to believe that what had happened was actually real. Yang was convinced they were the unwilling victims of an elaborate practical joke. Weiss was starting to believe it was all a vivid dream. Blake was simply denying it ever happened. Ruby was wondering if they might still have a few cookies in the cafeteria from yesterday.

… … … _What?_ She just didn't let this kind of stuff bother her for too long, okay?

After far too long a silence, Yang spoke first, her voice echoing off the ceiling, "Okay… so either we all had the same dream, …or that was one _big-ass_ prank…"

Weiss next, muffled by the pillow next to her mouth, "We couldn't have all had the same dream, oaf."

Then Blake, "I swear… if that _was_ a prank, someone's gonna die today…"

And finally Ruby, "…I'm hungry."

All four teens sighed. No one had the motivation to do anything after their doozy of a day yesterday. Sleep began to return to the teens, slowly but surely. The land of dreams _had_ to be better than this nonsense. Of course, that was when a banging on the door brought them back down to reality – or at least someone's twisted version of it.

"Good _mo~o~or~ning_ , everybody!" In came their nightmare in physical form, the Ruby look-alike who called herself Carmine. She was dressed the same as last night and carried a tray of food with her – a few pastries and other assorted sweets. She set it all down on the desk and proceeded to drag the unwilling children from their mattresses with a highly… _unwelcome_ vigor. "Come on lazy bones! Time to get up! Big day ahead of us! _Up! Up! Up!"_

"That's it…" the blonde growled as she fell to the floor with a thump, " _Oof!_ …I'm taking Ember Celica to bed with me from now on… Next one to yank me outta bed gets _shot…_ "

…

About half an hour later, all four teens were out of bed… mostly. Yang and Blake sat on the edge of Blake's bed in a silent stupor while Ruby nibbled on a danish like a zombie. Weiss was at least awake enough to spare the room's intruder one of her patented glares.

"What's wrong with _you?"_ The older Ruby said over her glasses.

"I looked up 'sublimating' last night," the heiress growled, " _that's_ what."

Carmine could only giggle with mischief before saying, "Well, while we're waiting for the coffee, …maybe I could continue from last night? There's still a lot to explain."

Yang stood up groggily, her blonde hair mostly in a bedraggled state, and walked over to Carmine until they were face-to-face. "We, um… well, I… I'm not so sure… uh, what I mean is… are you real?" Her lavender eyes were still half-closed due to the lack of any caffeinated fluids.

The woman called Carmine blinked, "What… do you mean? I'm standing right here, aren't I?"

"How do we know you're not someone else dressed up to look like Ruby? How can we be sure this isn't all some big joke?"

Carmine adjusted her glasses and gave a cheshire grin, "That _is_ the mystery, isn't it? :3"

"…"

Another voice called from the hallway, "Hey Carmine… which room is it?"

"The _open_ one!" she called back through the cracked door. At a lower volume, she addressed the teens, "And _that_ would be our coffee."

The door was nudged open with a foot, followed by toned legs bearing a tray with several empty mugs and an electric coffee pot. The tray was quickly set down on the desk next to the sweets. Three out of four members of team RWBY stared at the newcomer with a bit of confusion… the fourth simply ducked over and grabbed another danish.

The issue here was not the tray nor the mugs, but the face of the one bearing it all. The four teens slowly came out of their trance and stared hard at the newest intruder to the team RWBY dorm room.

It was another Ruby. A _third_ Ruby. A _third goddamn Ruby_.

"Perfect timing, Rose," Carmine purred as she poured herself a cup. "I'd say it's time you introduced yourself to the …younger audience."

Standing before a stunned group of teens was a girl of almost 18 (couldn't be any older) wearing a gray sleeveless shirt and dark red knee-length pants. She also had on nice leather boots and fingerless gloves. Her hairstyle was, like with Carmine, nearly identical to Ruby's – in this case, though, it was long enough to touch her shoulders. She also had a bright red scarf tied around her neck in place of Ruby's trademark cloak. The same silver eyes peered out over the onlookers as the girl gave an awkward wave and simply said, "…Hello."

Yang, Blake and Weiss all noticed instantly that the new Ruby's voice was deeper, most likely due to her more developed frame. And _boy_ was it developed. It was clear to all three that this was a girl who enjoyed working out – the muscles of both arms and her calves were well toned and very … _pleasing_ to look at.

Yang found it quite hard to remember that this girl was basically the same person as her baby sister. Blake was startled to realize that her mouth had begun to water. Weiss just stared, her issue with Carmine's vocabulary forgotten. Ruby was busy licking her fingers from the danish.

The scientist piped up next, "This is Ruby Rose from Remnant-2789. It's pretty much the same as this world, except for …uh, let's see…" She pulled out her scroll with her free hand and called up the information, "Ah, nearly everyone who is a student is in a different place or year. That's what I wrote, anyway."

Yang blinked, "…the hell does _that_ mean?"

"I think it means…" the new girl leaned back against the desk, "…that there's a lot of people here I don't know yet. You can all call me **Rose** , by the way." She scratched the back of her head then crossed her well-toned arms as she mused, "I haven't really heard too much either, to be honest with you. I just got in last night… or was it this morning?"

"It was almost 3 AM…" Carmine answered in between sips of coffee. "The machine only needs twelve hours to re-calibrate. It'll be ready to go again by 3 this afternoon."

"Ri~i~ight…" a pause, "So Yang and Weiss I know, but _you_ …" Rose turned to Blake, "You I don't know…"

The brunette swallowed hard before choking out, "B-Blake…"

A gloved hand was extended with a warm smile, "Nice to meet you, Blake." The hand was shaken (Blake's hand was trembling the whole time), then, "So I take it you all are a team here?"

Ruby finally piped up, "Yep, we're team RWBY!"

" _Team_ Ruby? They name teams after the leader here?"

"No no, it's R-W-B-Y. RWBY."

"Oh that's not confusing at _aaaaall_ …" there was no lack of sarcasm in her comment. "So, uh… which team is Coco on?"

Weiss blinked, "You mean Coco Adel, the second-year?"

"That's the one… I guess…"

"She's the leader of team CFVY. That's C-F-V-Y."

"Considering how much coffee she always drank, that just …fits," Rose chuckled at the thought. "What about Octavia? Or Ciel? Maybe Emerald or May?"

Weiss simply sighed, "Well _this_ is going to take a while…"

For the next 30 minutes, Weiss rattled off the teams at Beacon that she knew about, including the names of each member. She also included a few of the more well-known teams from other schools, the names of those students, and as much as she could remember of the rest. She often referred to her scroll for anything she couldn't quite nail down on her own. Carmine and Rose both stood by, silently nodding every so often as she spoke.

It was a lot of information, but she got through it. Ruby _'ooh'_ -ed and gave a small applause when she finished.

"Wow…" Rose finally said after a pause, "I don't know a single one of those teams. I recognize lots of the names, but…"

Carmine piped up, "Well that _is_ one of the biggest differences between your world and this one."

Another few minutes of no talking. There was only the slurping of coffee. It was clear to any onlookers that there was a lot of thinking going on in the room, but most of the faces gave away nothing. The members of team RWBY frequently shifted glances at each other and at the newest Ruby, trying to piece together what was going on a little better. Rose sat in the desk chair with her eyes closed. Carmine was too absorbed in drinking her coffee to notice anything.

"So… are you a second-year?" Yang asked, fidgeting a bit. She was still trying to avoid staring at this very …attractive version of her little sister.

"Almost. I was nearly finished with my first year when the shit hit the- …I mean, when everything went to hell." Rose slurped the last of her coffee, showing off one nice set of muscles on her right arm. Blake began to cough a bit, her own face going flush. Rose then looked right at Yang and said, "But _you_ guys were just finishing your third year."

Weiss' brow furrowed. "Third? You mean we're not the same year?"

"Well, we almost were. I passed on Ozpin's offer to attend Beacon early…"

"I didn't!" Ruby squeaked gleefully.

Rose fixed her silver eyes on the smaller version of herself, regarding the girl with a mix of curiosity and annoyance. "So I see… I'm _almost_ jealous."

Yang tried again, "Could you… tell us about the teams back in your world?"

The toned girl sighed lightly, then crossed her arms as she said, "Sure. Why not? I'm the leader of team ROCC. There's me, Coco, Octavia Ember, and Ciel Soliel."

Weiss' eyebrows shot upwards, "Wow… that's quite a group. Ciel ranks pretty high on Atlas' charts, and I remember that Octavia's team has become rather popular of late. So… you and Coco, huh?"

Rose appeared to shudder just a bit before she said, "…Yeah. Me and Coco." She didn't sound happy. The other people in the room gave each other a look of confusion before settling back in to listen. No one asked what that tone was for.

"Then there's team WYZE," she continued, "That's got Weiss and Yang, along with Emerald Sustrai and, uh …May Zedong."

"Emerald?" Ruby's eyes opened wide, "but she's here now! She's from …was it Haven or Shade Academy?"

Yang only shrugged. Rose's eyes widened to match Ruby's.

"Emerald's …here? Now…?" The girl's face became a shade redder than before, "Do you know what team she's on?"

This time Ruby shrugged, "No… but I know she's here with some guy named Mercury and a woman called, …what was it… Cinder…"

"We're _not_ going to talk about Cinder here, …do I make myself clear?"

Five pairs of eyes quickly turned to regard the sudden outburst from Carmine. She had barely raised her voice, yet the words cut off all other conversation instantly. The woman was still smiling, but underneath that smile was a thick, black darkness…

 _"DO. I. MAKE. MYSELF. CLEAR?"_

Rose and team RWBY all nodded quickly.

"Good!" The blackness was gone in an instant, "Then we should finish getting ready for the day. After all, I've got another Ruby Rose to bring in this afternoon. I don't think you'll want to miss that, would you?" Everyone vigorously shook their heads. The bespectacled woman briskly walked out of the room, leaving an awkward silence behind her.

Well… _that_ was different. And kinda scary… Everyone in the room made a mental note to never piss off the mad scientist version of Ruby Rose.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **PARADIGM OF THE ROSE**

 **Chapter 2 :** _ **  
**_ **They're Multiplying**

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **=^w^=**


	3. A Bit Unexpected

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:55 PM, Sunday Afternoon  
Beacon Academy South Courtyard, The Gardens_

…

Unlike the Pavilion, which featured a common sitting area and a wide expanse of paths to allow for pleasant walks through flowers and trees, Blake's preferred spot was in the Gardens in the southern part of the campus. It was really more of a small park, though, which primarily featured a decent-sized lake in the middle of it. Just off to one side of this lake was a large tree with thick, low-hanging branches that was just perfect for sitting and reading books on a lovely sunny day. She often found herself coming here on a regular basis just to get some peace and quiet.

Which was something Blake desperately needed right now.

The others had elected to go to the Pavilion and watch the show, but Blake chose to stay out of it. This whole thing was getting to be too much for the faunus. First she witnesses a person vanishing into thin air yesterday, and now there's not one but two extra Ruby's scampering around campus. And to top it all off, there's still more coming?!

Blake was seriously considering running off into town for a few days just to hide. It seemed to work before, when she had come out about her faunus lineage… But no, that would be a bad idea. As much as the others had freaked out about that, there was no way she could get away this time without a much better pursuit party right behind her. None of the teens relished the idea of hunting down a runaway faunus in the city again.

In all honesty, and as insane as this whole situation truly was, the one and only thing that was really bothering Blake right at this moment was…

"Ah, there you are. I was wondering where you were hiding."

… _Her._

Blake was no stranger to romantic options, a few of which had actually pursued her in recent weeks. Sun Wukong, of course, was one of them. And don't get her wrong, she was also interested in some of them (she was a faunus, not _dead_ ).

The problem was that out of all the people she had ever met and had even a mild attraction to, none of them could hold a candle to the most recent Ruby look-alike standing just below her at ground level (although Yang came close, but you'd have to torture Blake before she'd admit that). Rose, as she called herself, had evidently skipped out on the light show as well and had tracked down where Blake was hiding. The well-built teen was currently leaning against the tree trunk and crossing her arms (a pose that made Blake's heart start beating faster… good _gods_ why was she so _ripped_ …?)

"To be honest, I think this whole thing is crazy. I mean, …what the hell are we even _doing_ here, you know? The other short Ruby didn't say much, either."

 _Must be talking about that 'Rain' person._ Blake had been thinking along much the same lines. Carmine, their resident mad scientist, had thus far been rather mum about the purpose behind this whole sci-fi movie scenario. Surely she wasn't doing this just for fun? The faunus wanted to believe that there was a really, _really_ good reason for all of this… madness…

And Blake was debating whether or not to stay and listen to Rose's voice for more than a few more seconds. _Gods_ …she could listen to it all day. The lower tone and deeper resonance was enough to give Blake a serious case of the tingles (most likely because of her extra set of ears).

"So… you're a faunus, right? Carmine mentioned something about it earlier."

There was a pause. That wasn't really a question, but whatever.

"Do you just have… extra ears? A tail? I kinda missed the class that discussed how the faunus are different from humans, so I'm not really up to speed…" The muscular girl was scratching the back of her head now. It was kind of a cute pose, actually.

Blake took a minute to catch her breath before saying, "The majority of faunus simply have an extra pair of animal-like ears. There are a few that have tails instead, but no faunus is ever born with _both_. It's always one or the other."

She looked down to see if Rose was listening and her breath caught when their eyes locked. Oh she was listening, all right. "Th-there are rare exceptions to this rule, but that only includes things like horns or skin – no matter what, every faunus has _just one_ animalistic trait."

Rose looked out over the water, apparently considering Blake's words. "And the enhanced senses, right?"

The brunette nodded, "Yes, stronger vision and a sense of smell are the main ones. Hearing is enhanced more with the larger ears, like mine…" She reached a hand up and rubbed one of her hidden cat ears beneath her ribbon. It was nice to give them some attention every now and again. She made a mental note to give them a thorough cleaning in the shower tonight.

Her arms were crossed again as Rose hummed in thought. "I was at Beacon for almost a full year, but I never met any of the faunus there. I _know_ there was at least a few…" Her brow furrowed with thought. "Man, I need to start asking around when I get back. You all seem pretty cool…"

It was _close_ to a racist comment, but Blake let it slide.

"…And if what Carmine said is true, then there's definitely a 'Blake' back in my world somewhere. I don't think she's at Beacon, though…" Rose looked up and gave Blake a big, goofy grin, saying, "If there was, I'm sure I'd have noticed someone who was that cute…"

Blake's face instantly turned beet red. Rose's face did the same a moment later… she obviously didn't getting the meaning of what she just said right away. Did this girl have no shame? No one could be _that_ innocent…!

The melodic tones of Blake's scroll rang out next, interrupting any further …flirting. It was Yang. "Hey Blake, you might wanna get over here. I think you're gonna want to see this new Ruby…"

"I told you I don't want to watch…"

"No, seriously, _you're gonna wanna see this…_ "

Blake sighed, unable to keep the boredom out of her voice, "Okay, fine. What kind of a 'new Ruby' is she?"

There was a laugh from the other end of the line, followed by, "Uh… it's not a _she_ …"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _3:17 PM  
Beacon Academy East Courtyard, The Pavilion_

…

Of all the things Blake was expecting, this was _not_ one of them.

The newcomer was currently sitting in a folding chair as everyone looked on in wonder. As with the others, the newcomer's hairstyle was eerily similar to Ruby's. It was the same length, style and color. The face was also close in shape and structure, complete with the same bright silver eyes.

But that was where the similarities ended. The bright red jacket replaced the cloak and there was a pair of black jeans where there would otherwise be a combat skirt. Aside from that was the plain black t-shirt underneath and similar black and red boots. There was also a …familiar pair of silvery bracelets on both wrists. Familiar to Blake, anyway.

Oh, yeah… and then there was the fact that this was a BOY.

"Soooo…" Blake started, hesitantly. "You found a male Ruby, huh?"

The boy in question had a very dejected look on his face, much like a child who had gotten lost in the middle of the city and was waiting for his parents to come pick him up. Every time he looked around to examine his new companions (captors?), he could never lock eyes for more than an instant and tore his gaze away quickly. His feet had started twitching as well.

"Y~ep," Carmine replied, popping the 'p' sound again. "And he's from…" she quickly checked her scroll, "…Remnant-6971. According to my notes, his world is totally gender-swapped compared to this one. In fact, I've confirmed no less than 50 different worlds where the genders are differentiated…"

Yang was apparently the only one who heard that part, and she looked over at Carmine with wide eyes, saying, "…Are you kidding me? So in his world, I'm… a…"

Blake looked around, just now noticing one particular person's absence. "Where's Weiss?"

Yang shook herself out of her daze. "Ah, she went back to the dorm," she answered. "As soon as red boy here showed up, she said, uh…" the blonde then raised her voice an octave, giving a surprisingly good imitation of the heiress' voice, _"Okay, that's it! I'm done! I am five-hundred-percent DONE with this shit! Mad Scientist and Muscles were bad enough, but THAT'S IT! I'm gonna take a NAP!"_

The faunus chuckled, "Did she really say 'shit?'"

Rose mouthed _'muscles?'_ then began examining her own arms as though she'd never seen them before.

"Oh, yeah… Definitely sounded mad," Yang grinned. It was obviously an amusing sight to see the heiress that flustered.

Blake cogitated at the thought, "Hmm… That's about how I was feeling just a bit ago…"

"Um, e-excuse me…?" The boy-Ruby was raising his hand shakily. "Wh-which one of you guys- er, _girls_ …is Carmine?"

The Ruby-clone in question stepped forward, adjusting her glasses with one hand, "That would be me, the Mad Scientist. I take it you spoke with my assistant, then?"

"Assistant?"

"Yes, she goes by the name Rain. She's been helping me for quite some time now." Carmine looked over at her large sci-fi device with an expression of wonder. "Most of this was because of her, actually…"

Blake looked over, "Was that the person you made … _disappear_ yesterday?"

"That'd be the one. She's using one of my toys to gather the chosen Ruby's from each world and send them here. This machine…" she gestured to the large pile of metal and electrical cables, "…serves as the landing point for each transmission. It's how they all get here safe, sound, and right-side _in_."

Boy-Ruby was still a bit uncertain. "And, um… why am _I_ here …again?" Rose, who was also standing nearby, perked up at this question. She, too, was interested to find out.

The bespectacled redhead lowered her voice a few octaves and tried to sound like an older man, _"Tut-tut, my boy. Time enough for explanations later! First, we must collect the two remaining subjects!"_ She managed to pull off a good impression of Peter Port, the large mustache-bearing teacher.

Blake intoned flatly, "…That way you only have to give one explanation, right?"

Carmine simply smiled her cheshire grin, "Ma-a-a-y-be… :3"

Yang finally glanced down and noticed the boy's accessories. "Hey, um… what are those?" She pointed to his hands. "They look awfully familiar…"

"Huh? You mean these?" The boy raised one hand and the silver finish of the bracelet glistened in the afternoon sun. "They're actually my weapons. I call 'em Amber Celica…" He jerked the raised hand downward, causing the weapon to expand in a series of whirs and clicks until it was fully formed – and other than the color scheme, it was identical to Yang's own gauntlets. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Yang grinned, "Yeah? Well I call mine…" She unleashed her own weapons, the machinery making the same noises and movement as the boys', "… _Ember_ Celica."

Boy-Ruby's jaw dropped. He pointed at Yang and said, voice stopping every few words, "That name is… so much… _better_ than mine… no fair." He was actually pouting now.

With a small gesture, Yang withdrew her golden gauntlets once again, then stepped closer to the boy version of her little sister. "So what do we call you? Rube? Garnet? Maybe just Bob?"

"Well, I… uh… I guess you …you can just call me **Red** for now… that's what they call me back home…"

Carmine the Mad Scientist clapped and rubbed her hands together in a little show to get everyone's attention. "Well… now that our boy here is acquainted with everybody, what say I show you two where you'll be sleeping for the next week or so?" She walked forward briskly, not bothering to check if anyone was following her. Rose and the new arrival called Red quickly trotted after her, afraid of getting lost in her dust.

Blake was sure she could hear Red muttering to himself as he walked away, _'Garnet? Damn... why didn't I think of that? That's SO much better than Red... Dammit...'_

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _7:22 AM, Monday Morning  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor - Team RWBY Dorm Room_

…

Because of the onset of the Vytal Festival, most of the classes at Beacon had been either postponed or cancelled. There were still a few places where the die-hard students could go to continue their formal education, but most were (strongly) encouraged to relax and enjoy the festivities. As such, Monday morning found all of team RWBY sleeping in. Oddly enough, that even included Weiss – but Blake suspected that was more due to the nature of their situation.

The three extra Ruby Roses had been given the dorm room right next to the team RWBY room for the duration of their stay in this world, which mainly meant they wouldn't be very far away. Blake was laying in her bunk with her ribbon removed, so she certainly would have heard if there was any activity next door at this hour. All was quiet.

She shifted her head just slightly on the pillow for a better position, being careful not to disturb the little redhead who was snuggled up against her beneath the covers.

…

 _Wait a freakin' minute…_

Now wide awake, Blake threw back the covers to reveal a child that was far too similar to Ruby Rose for Blake's comfort. As usual, there was the same short, dark red hair, and she could only guess the color of her eyes, what with them being shut in peaceful slumber… but this girl was … _really small_. Blake could only guess she was the size of a 7-8 year old at best. Big head, small body, tiny hands… she almost looked like a normal little kid…

If not for the obscenely large cat ears sticking out of her head.

Oh, and the fluffy cat-like tail that was curled up around her legs.

The ears and tail were all the same dark red color as the girl's hair.

Ears _and_ a tail.

…

 _'And.'_

…

This was _not_ a faunus.

…

No longer caring about the time, nor about her teammate's desire for sleep, Blake slammed a fist against the wall and shouted, _"CARMI-I-I-INE!"_

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **PARADIGM OF THE ROSE**

 **Chapter 3:** _  
_ **A Bit Unexpected**

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **=^w^=**


	4. Red and Blue

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _7:31 AM, Monday Morning  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor - Team RWBY Dorm Room_

…

Everything that was happening in the room around her was a bit of a blur at the moment. Shapes were fuzzy and noises were muffled, among other things… but that was all a matter of perception. Weiss just hadn't had any coffee yet.

The fact that she had been awoken by a loud bang and a shout did little to ease the transition from sleepy to awakey. The heiress sat mostly upright in her bed, swaying back and forth while trying to decide if she should simply get up …or return to her almond butter kingdom of cotton candy trees and giraffes wearing skirts.

A small weight on her lap brought Weiss back to the land of the living, but only briefly. She looked down to find a child-like version of Ruby Rose, her partner back in reality land, sitting in her lap and regarding her with the biggest puppy-dog eyes you ever did see. Her bleary mind was at least able to register the sight with enough clarity that the heiress wondered how she could imagine such a cute version of the redhead.

Eh, what the hell. No one was complete master of their own minds, after all.

Weiss' sleepy fuzz quickly warmed up as she returned to the land of dreams, grabbing the Ruby Child in a hug and plopping back down into bed. She ignored the _meep!_ of surprise as she did so. The kitty ears were a nice bonus, too.

She sighed, drifting away to once again enjoy the sleep of angels.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _8:30 AM  
Beacon Academy Cafeteria_

…

She knew nothing else until her first cup of the caffeinated bean juice almost an hour later.

Somewhere along the line she had actually gotten dressed, though when and how were minor questions. Moments after the life returned to her limbs and her mind, the very next thing she noticed was that the Ruby Head Count had, once again, been changed. Now she spied no less than five heads of red hair sitting around their table, all casually eating breakfast. One of them sported a large pair of cat ears.

 _Oh yeah… every 12 hours. She must've grabbed another one this morning... looks like it's a faunus this time._

"I had a weird dream last night, …although maybe it was more of a sad dream," Ruby was sharing with the group. The normal Ruby. _Her_ Ruby.

"I saw my mom… at least, I think it was her… standing at a distance. It looked like she was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't hear her…"

"No lip reading, eh?" Carmine jabbed good-naturedly. The issue of their mother was one of the few things she and Ruby still had in common, so she behaved herself.

"No… but after that, a big wooden door appeared. It shut by itself, blocking mom off from me. I can remember looking at that door and seeing _every little detail_ , so much that'd if I ever saw it in real life, I'd just know _that's the door_ … but now, it's all kinda fuzzy…"

Yang, who was sitting next to Ruby, rubbed her sister's back in a comforting manner. They both missed Summer Rose terribly, so the emotions that a vision like that could bring were well known to both.

Weiss watched all of this, trying to imagine what it must be like to grow up without the true love of a mother to bring you through the toughest of times. She was somewhat lucky in that her own mother was still alive and well, although to say she was the most caring woman in the world would be a serious stretch of logic.

Of course, the woman _did_ love Weiss, as well as the other two Schnee children, but it was a …remote sort of love. Weiss never really felt it the way Yang and Ruby must have felt it.

…She was almost jealous. Almost.

"Well, I had a dream, too," Blake spoke up, "I dreamed that every single man, woman, and child in both Beacon and Vale had been replaced with copies of Ruby."

No one responded for a few moments as Blake took a sip of her tea. She was waiting for it to sink in, apparently. "Would that count as a scary dream?" She asked with a half-grin.

Various mutters made their way around the table. Ruby's expression flattened, "Ho-ho, very funny. Ha-ha, it is to laugh," she replied mechanically.

Rose, who was sitting at the other end of the table from Blake, considered throwing a strawberry at the faunus… for about half a second. Not worth it, she decided. She plopped the whole thing in her mouth at once.

Weiss slowly brought her mind back to the present situation – The Invasion of The Rubys.

Her meltdown yesterday had nearly been forgotten, but as she spied the Boy Ruby, the one who apparently called himself Red, Weiss was reminded of why she had freaked out in the first place. Having to deal with a single Ruby Rose was already taking up most of Weiss' mental facilities, alongside her schoolwork and combat training. Bringing more into the mix was threatening to upend the balance of everything. Rose coming into the picture did, admittedly, restore a bit of that balance (because _damn_ those were some nice shoulders)… but a freaking _guy_ was just too much.

And besides, as far was Weiss could see, this male Ruby was more like Jaune Arc dressed up in a Ruby cosplay outfit. The normal attitude and bubbly personality was just not there. The guy looked like a whipped dog.

As the heiress thought about the boy, something else began to bug her about him – something no one had bothered to point out. As she kept thinking, she slowly began to wonder why she seemed to be the only one to notice.

Why did Red have a copy of Yang's weapon instead of Ruby's?

Rose had already shown them her own Crescent Rose (which she called 'mark-2' for some reason), and Carmine only claimed that she, too, still wielded a scythe (though she didn't offer to show it to them)… so why the gauntlets? Something about that just didn't seem right…

Weiss was very close to interrupting the friendly banter to bring up this very topic, but a new presence caused a reaction in the Boy Ruby that the heiress did not see coming.

Lie Ren walked into the cafeteria. Red's eyes locked onto him and didn't leave.

"Mornin' Ren!" Ruby chirped. The other residents of the table spared him a glance, then returned to their conversation.

The tall boy stopped, stared at the congregation of redheads for a moment, then turned back to the task of collecting his food. All he uttered was a single, "…Nope."

Once he was finished, Ren strode out with tray in hand, apparently heading back to his dorm room… with Red's silver eyes fixed on his departing form. Yang noticed this and said, "Oh yeah, 'gender-swap.' So your Ren is a girl, right Red?"

The Boy Ruby sputtered and coughed, not expecting to be spoken to directly, and said, "Y-yeah, she's a girl. There's almost n-no difference in how they look, though…" No one bothered to point out the fact that Red was slowly turning the color of his namesake.

Yang had the new Child Ruby in her lap, helping the kid reach her plate. Weiss had to admit that this one, at least, was far cuter than she would have expected. "So… we have a little faunus Ruby now?" Weiss mused, face blank of emotion.

"She is _not_ a faunus," Blake snapped. Weiss heard a fair amount of irritation in the brunette's voice. "Faunus don't have both ears and a tail! I keep _telling_ you people that!"

"Settle down, tiger…" Yang tried, motioning towards Blake with an open hand, "No need to get snippy." This earned a glare for the blonde.

Carmine adjusted her glasses, going into lecture mode, "Indeed, she is not a true faunus. There is no pre-established classification for her species, but the closest term I have found to most adequately describe what she is would be …a catgirl."

Nearly everyone at the table sweat-dropped at the same time. The cat-Ruby made an adorable _mew_ sound as she took a sip of milk from her drink box.

The Mad Scientist continued, "Her name is, of course, Ruby Rose. She's from Remnant-2208. That world happens to be one with no humans at all. Everyone there is like her…" she waved at cat-Ruby with one hand, "Part animal. Yang, move her hair back from the ear area and show them, would you?"

A bit hesitant, Yang complied and brushed little Ruby's hair back away from the lower ears… or at least where those ears would have been. While true faunus had a pair of animal ears and a normal pair of human ears, this catgirl version of Ruby had _only_ the cat ears. The space where her normal ears should have been was just blank flesh at the base of her jawbone.

"Well _that's_ kinda freaky…" Rose said, unhelpfully. Blake just grunted.

The child-like catgirl suddenly decided that she no longer wished to sit in Yang's lap. She quickly scooted herself off and onto the floor, hobbled around Ruby's chair, then climbed up to sit on the lap of her larger, human clone. Once there, she gave a really cute grunt ( _ni-sho_ ) and settled herself in and leaned back into Ruby's lap. She then looked up and smiled, eyes half-closed in sheer bliss, and gave an adorable little _nyaa_. Both ears went low on her head, but not flat against it.

Nearly everyone at the table squealed in delight. How could anything be so damned _cute?_

Weiss (after calming herself) said, "So… why the heck are they all named Ruby Rose, anyway?"

"Because that's who they _are_. Why ask why?" Carmine replied cryptically.

Yang spoke up next, "Well, what do we call her, then? Everyone else got a nickname."

"I vote 'Tiger,'" tried Rose.

"How about 'Strawberry'?" Blake offered.

"'Rosalyn' is a pretty name…" Weiss added.

"Uh, how about…" Red started to say, "…Poppy?"

Carmine said, "Hmm… maybe 'Firepaw' or something…"

"I say we call her 'Lady Snugglebuns!'" Yang said with a giggle. "What about you, Ruby? Ideas?"

"Okay, uh…" Ruby stopped her hugging long enough to think. She then spied the bowl of fruit on the table and said, "…how 'bout 'Cherry'?"

At the sound of that name, the cat-Ruby looked up at Ruby with wide, sparkling silver eyes, then broke into a big smile and cooed, " **Cherry** …? I like cherries…" in an adorable kiddy-voice.

Once again the table broke into a chorus of _squee_ -ing. Weiss fully expected the newly named Cherry to be rather squished after all the savage snuggling, hugging and loving she was soon to receive.

But then, such was the fate of the overly adorable when surrounded by a bunch of girls… and you can't prove me wrong.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:50 PM  
Beacon Academy East Courtyard, The Pavilion_

…

Considering all of the high-tech, outer-spacey things attached to it, Carmine's inter-dimensional transport system worked rather … _quietly_.

Weiss had been present yesterday when Red was 'summoned,' and she was determined to not miss anything that came next – after the surprise of Cherry's arrival, she wanted to make absolutely sure she watched this last one. The heiress found herself wishing Carmine would at least tell them what to expect with each new subject… but the Mad Scientist seemed to _enjoy_ catching them off guard. A lot. It was getting rather annoying.

Since it was the final arrival and all that, the group decided to make it something of a garden party. Drinks and snack, things like that. It was a nice enough day for it, no doubt.

Much to everyone's surprise, Glynda Goodwitch had shown up for today's experiment. She claimed it was because she was curious and, as she put it, she had a fair amount of free time at the moment. Weiss suspected she was just trying to get away from the headmaster for a while.

All but one of the standard team RWBY was currently present, each teen standing just behind Carmine at the controls. Yang had gone inside to fetch more food since they suddenly had more guests than expected. The three 'other' Rubys stood further back – although Cherry wasn't really _standing_. The cat-child was currently perched atop Rose's chiseled shoulders for a better view. All of the new visitors properly introduced themselves to the older woman.

Just before things got started, Glynda approached Carmine and quietly discussed something with her. Weiss could only make out the word 'pictures' and the fact that both women were glancing back at Cherry. The blonde had a hungry gleam in her eyes.

Weiss felt a small pang of sympathy for the kid. As bad as Glynda was about photos of Zwei, … _this_ was bound to be much worse. Never get between a maniac and her hobby.

"Well, is everybody ready?" Carmine was rather giddy now that she had a full audience. "Time to bring in our final alternate-reality Ruby Rose!"

After she finished her fantastic (short) speech, the woman hit a few buttons, the machine silently charged up, and a brilliant light erupted from the empty door frame at the center of the machine. Weiss noticed a blue-green tinge to the outer edges of the white, the same as before. Other than the hum of the generators, there was almost no noise at all.

The light simply appeared, grew stronger, and then faded. Once everyone's eyes re-adjusted, a new person once again stood before them.

If not for the silver eyes and dark red hair, Weiss Schnee would have sworn on all the gods in existence that she was staring at her sister Winter. A clone, at least. Gods. Nearly everything was the same.

Same hairstyle (although it now matched Ruby's standard dark red color, save for a single streak of snowy white down the front bang), same white uniform (with _very_ small differences in details), and even the same poise and stature while standing still. The heiress was almost shocked to the point of passing out …but that was right before she remembered to keep breathing. As the taller woman stepped down from the machine, Weiss was possessed with an urge to start screaming …yet deep down she knew that if she did, she may never stop.

A male Ruby was bad all my itself. A Ruby that literally _copied_ her beloved older sister… Weiss was close to taking it as a _personal offense_.

With a voice as deep as Rose, yet with almost as much authority as Ozpin himself, the new arrival looked at the scientist and said, "Am I to assume you are the one called Carmine?"

The bespectacled Ruby hesitated, the briefest of shivers causing her white lab coat to sway, then said, "I am. I'm running this experiment, and therefore I assume responsibility for the safety and well-being of my test subjects. Those people behind me are also strangers to this world, same as you…" she pointed to each of the alternate Rubys as she said each name, "They're called Rose, Red and Cherry."

"A _colorful_ bunch," the newcomer quipped with a raised eyebrow. "And the rest?"

More pointing for each name, "That's Blake, Weiss and Ruby. I'll explain why so many of us look alike later. The last one's inside, but…" Carmine was ready to go on, but noticed the newcomer's attention was no longer on her, nor on any of the teens for that matter. No… those intense silver eyes were currently locked onto the only teacher in the group and were wide with shock.

She breathed, "… _Glynda?_ " before stepping forward slowly.

Ms. Goodwitch also had a bit of a shocked look since somehow a trans-dimensional visitor knew her name right away… but collected herself quickly. "Indeed, I am Glynda Goodwitch, but I don't believe we've met. You are…?"

The woman in the white uniform looked a bit taken aback, her brow furrowing just a bit.

Carmine piped up quickly, "Yeah, um, …new world, new rules, …and new people. This is _not_ the Glynda you know, so… you should really introduce yourself."

Her eyes darted over the gathered crowd, then back onto Glynda, apparently reassessing her situation, before the woman cleared her throat and said, in a much calmer voice, "My apologies, I forget myself. I am called Sapphire Schnee, eldest daughter of the Schnee family and Specialist of the Atlesian Army."

"…!"

The same look was bad enough.

The similar voice and attitude was worse.

But the blatant copying of nearly every detail of her beloved sister's life…

That. Was. _IT._

In the span of about one second, numerous things happened: Weiss drew her weapon, loaded an ice cartridge as she shot forward, screamed in rage, and let loose a blast of pure cold energy. Carmine had only just enough time to dive out of the way before being caught in the wave.

Her foe seemed to be anticipating this, however, and was able to dodge the attack. Upon landing, she quickly drew her own weapon and began to retaliate. Weiss was already charging for another attack, but faltered just a bit when her opponent began to answer with attacks of her own. Thin steel met wide sword as metal struck metal in a deadly dance.

And this woman was _good_. Weiss could find no openings in her stance or form. The heiress struck with a lightning fast volley of blows, a combo designed to take down the toughest of Grimm by hitting all the weak points at once so there could be no defending, …but the woman tanked every blow, not even bothering to block.

Weiss had realized a bit too late that her opponent's aura levels must be far superior to her own to take such blows with no issue. In a contest of pure skill with the sword, Weiss knew she would have no chance.

Fortunately for her, the heiress had a few tricks up her billowy white sleeves. With another rotation of the dust chamber, Myrtenaster was ready to go again. She laid down a glyph, absorbed the energy into her feet, and shot forward with _far_ more speed than before. The move worked to catch the impersonator off guard long enough for Weiss to land a few good hits, sending the woman backwards several feet before she skidded to a stop, breathing hard and clutching her shoulder.

Silver eyes raised up and locked with ice-blue. The wide, segmented blade was raised. The rapier was lifted into position.

Both combatants gave a shout as they charged.

…Right before the ground between them blew apart. Dirt and grass flew everywhere in the cloud of dust.

Yang had landed, and she was a bit… _aggravated_. Luckily for the newcomer, the blonde's first target was the shorter of the two Schnees.

"Mind telling me just what the crispy crap you were trying to do here, _princess?_ " Yang was livid, her eyes like blazing hot coals, hair glowing like a furnace. "Even I could tell this bitch is a professional soldier, and I just got out here! _Do you have some kind of death wish?!_ "

Rose was covering Cherry's ears by this point and blushing slightly.

Weiss' face was going red as well as she yelled back, "What do you think I'm doing? This little piece of..." A pause. The heiress did a double-take of Yang, followed by her very seriously saying, "Yang, …don't ever say that word again."

Also calming down, the blonde crossed her arms in irritation and growled, "Well I'm _not_ sorry… and it wasn't that bad. Don't be such a prude."

"And as for you, I… … … I, uh… … …" Weiss deflated quickly when she next beheld her opponent.

Much like before, the self-named Sapphire Schnee was looking at a blonde and wearing the expression of someone who has either witnessed a murder or seen a ghost. Eyes were wide, mouth slightly agape, and trembling finger pointing. At Yang.

No one moved for several beats.

All at once the soldier dropped her sword to the ground, the metal clanking loudly as it struck the pavers. Turning with a huff, Sapphire stormed away into the distance, seemingly not caring in the slightest where she was going, but in a _royal_ hurry to get there. Anywhere seemed a better place than here. The stunned group watched her departure in silence for a full minute.

"…What the hell was _that_ about?" Yang muttered to no one in particular.

Carmine, who was busy brushing the debris from her lab coat, suggested, "Well it looked like she was mad at you for some reason."

"…The hell did _I_ do?" Yang complained, throwing her hands into the air for emphasis.

Blake spoke next, her voice echoing from the hallway she dove into when the fight started, "You know… someone should probably stop her before she gets lost in the Emerald Forest, don't you think…?"

"Agreed," Carmine nodded. She then clapped her hands and shouted, "Everyone who answers to the name 'Ruby,' front and center! We're going on a search and rescue!"

Five heads of identical dark red hair headed out, one of which also sported that pair of ever-so-cute cat ears that twitched with every sharp noise and loud footstep as she rode atop Rose's shoulders. The 'normal' Ruby (why, oh _why_ was that becoming the standard way to tell her apart?!) gave the others a little encouragement before huffing after the others.

Glynda walked up next to Weiss and spoke calmly – but it was the icy calm of a judge passing sentence. "Young lady, I expect a full explanation for your actions before the day is out. That was highly irresponsible and dangerous. You were lucky no one was badly hurt."

Weiss could only nod meekly, "…Yes, ma'am."

As she turned to go back inside, Weiss spied Yang picking up the newcomer's dropped sword and carefully studying it. The blonde had a look of open suspicion as she looked out into the woods where the Schnee woman had vanished.

The fencer asked, "Something wrong?"

To which the brawler answered, "…Why did she have Uncle Qrow's sword?"

…

The next few hours crawled by.

After Weiss' scolding, team RWBY (minus the 'R') waited in their dorm room for any news of the runaway Schnee-Ruby. Since it seemed like a situation better suited for those of the same red-headed variety, Blake, Weiss, and Yang elected to simply trust their leader and wait it out.

For Yang, waiting meant listening to her music on headphones that were terrible at keeping the audio private. For Blake, that meant reading. Obviously. Never one to waste too much of her time, Weiss studied during their entire siesta. It's not like she had better things to do, after all.

Ruby had finally come back just before sunset. It only took them about 10 minutes to find the woman, but all the rest of the time was spent getting her to calm down. It had just been one shock after another and the poor thing was on the verge of a total breakdown.

According to the woman called Sapphire, she had literally just come off of a battlefield before she showed up here, so she was still a bit …tense. Getting attacked without provocation (quit whining Weiss) was also bad, but made worse when her attacker used the same glyphs as her family did. She didn't know Weiss at all, so how was it possible?

On top of that, seeing this world's Glynda had thrown her for a serious loop. In her world, Glynda was her little sister and was pretty much where Weiss is now. She was simply not ready to see a fully-grown version so quickly.

The final straw, however, came when she saw Yang. Apparently, the blonde looked _exactly_ like Sapphire's mother.

Needless to say, this information was received with a bit of shock. As in, Yang did a _glorious_ spit-take. Her expression was something Weiss made an effort to remember from then on. It was rather …satisfying.

In the end, the group managed to convince Sapphire to give them another chance. Carmine would stay up and bring Rain back with one last 'transmission' early tomorrow morning, and then we'll all get the detailed explanations we've been so patiently waiting for.

Ruby, of course, had a thickly sarcastic tone when she said that part. Weiss couldn't have blamed her if she tried.

Although there was some noise and rumbling next door later in the evening, Weiss didn't bother the Ruby Squad any more for today. Nor did they bother her. She knew good and well that she'd have to apologize in the morning when next she met Sapphire, but she was definitely not ready for that tonight.

Nope, best to let everyone sleep on it. Surely things would make more sense tomorrow.

The heiress turned in promptly at 10:00.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _3:02 AM, Tuesday Morning  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor - Team RWBY Dorm Room_

…

Under normal circumstances, Weiss Schnee could sleep through a bomb going off outside her window … _if_ that bomb happened to go off at 3:00 in the morning.

This, however, was not a normal circumstance.

 _"Weiss… Weiss, wake up… Seriously Weiss, this is an emergency…"_ a sharp whisper penetrated the veil of dreams and brought the heiress fully into reality land.

Before her was the face of Carmine, the older, glasses-wearing, mad scientist version of Ruby Rose. As soon as the woman saw Weiss' eyes open, she quickly put a hand over the teen's mouth to prevent any unwanted noise from escaping. Those silver eyes darted to the window, then to the door, both wide with terror. It was like she was expecting the boogeyman to appear at any moment. Waiting for some masked psycho to come in and murder them all.

Weiss actually _smelled_ the fear coming off Carmine.

Something was very wrong.

She spoke in the lightest of whispers, keeping her mouth right next to Weiss' ear, _"Get the others up and dressed and meet down in front of the building as soon as you can. Be fast and BE QUIET. We're in a LOT of trouble right now…"_ Weiss clearly saw the sweat dripping down the woman's face as she spoke.

Carmine then quickly stood up and dashed in complete silence to the door, ghosted it open, then ghosted it shut behind her. She didn't make a single blessed sound the entire time.

"…"

Adrenaline can do funny things to a human, especially at the wee hours of the morning. Weiss found with a laugh that she didn't even _want_ coffee right now… that would have to come later, if only to get that taste out of her mouth.

Ignoring the pressing questions and focusing on the problem at hand, the heiress quietly stood up to fetch her clothes… then froze. In every sense of the word. The room seemed to get several degrees colder in an instant. She almost swore she could see her breath.

Something was right outside the window. The fourth floor window.

The drapes were completely shut, but Weiss could almost see the shadowy outline of a person standing on the windowsill outside.

She somehow knew the person (thing?) was trying to see inside.

No, not see. It was _listening_.

Weiss almost believed that her heart had quit beating.

"…"

In a mere instant, the shadow was gone. It didn't _leave_ … but it was gone none the less. The chill in the air seemed to follow it.

The next thought that went through Weiss' head surprised her a bit but she just knew, without a doubt, _That was NOT the one called Rain._

Weiss had never moved so fast in her life as she did in those next five minutes.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **PARADIGM OF THE ROSE**

 **Chapter 4:** _ **  
**_ **Red and Blue**

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **=^w^=**


	5. The Reason For The Gathering

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:59 AM, Tuesday Morning  
City of Vale, Warehouse District, Unit 117_

…

The black bowler cap sat on the table next to the pile of notes and plans, most of which were now totally worthless. The owner of that cap leaned back in his metal folding chair and lit up a cigar, letting the smoke billow around his ginger hair in an attempt to relax.

And that was not an easy thing to do ever since their plans hit that little _snag_. How the loss of just one program could set them back this far was …not worth thinking about. Trying to do so just made his head hurt.

Roman was, of course, grateful to Cinder for getting him out of that Atlesian holding cell ahead of schedule – he had no intention of staying anywhere he couldn't smoke, at least. But in the end, his escape was only because they now had to resort to Plan B.

And Roman Torchwick was _not_ looking forward to Plan B.

"How are the preparations coming?" a smooth, silky voice asked from the shadows. High-heeled footsteps signaled the approach of Roman's current boss. Blazing yellow eyes peered out from the darkness, followed by a form-fitting red dress.

"Oh-ho- _ho_ , that's a good one!" The man paused to take a drag, then said, "Look around, gorgeous. We have one enormous warehouse with… _three crates of dust!"_ His last words echoed into the emptiness. "Ever since that little stunt at the Breach, we've lost pretty much everything we had stockpiled to those animals in the White Fang. On top of that, none of them are all that eager to trust us again!"

Neo, Roman's current number-one henchman (as in, his _only_ henchman), was leaning against the side wall and filing her nails. Every so often she'd look up and check on the conversation, then return to the work at hand.

"Oh, Roman… you know I'm more persuasive than you look." Cinder swayed her way past the ginger-haired man (who briefly furrowed his brow at her sneaky jab) and glanced over the notes on the table. "Just leave the White Fang to me. I'll get their cooperation. Your only job is to spread the word to the rest of them…" She regarded him with one eye, the other hiding beneath waves of dark hair.

He sighed, his next words were drawn out and exaggerated, "Oh- _kay_ boss _lady_ ," he spread his arms for emphasis. Neo made a giggling motion, but there was no sound. There was never any sound from the mute woman.

As Cinder began to walk away, Roman got a sudden chill and shivered violently.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Cinder doing the same thing.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _3:22 AM  
Beacon Academy, Central Courtyard_

…

Yang never fancied herself a morning person, but she could still wake up at 9:00 am with the best of them. Even stretching it to 7:00 am was somehow workable. 6:00 am if someone's life was at stake.

But 3:00 in the morning? She was fixin' to kill something. Or someone. Whichever she ran into first.

Currently she was standing outside, in the wee hours of the morning, and in her pajamas (thank the _gods_ it wasn't very cold). All around her was not only the rest of her team, but also nearly all of the 'Ruby Squad' as Weiss had called them. 'Nearly' all, in that they had voted to let Cherry continue sleeping. No one wanted to be the one to wake her up.

Like Yang, both Blake and Ruby were still in their respective sleepwear. The best they could muster in such short notice was their shoes. Yang spied a bit of crust in the corner of Ruby's eye at one point, but didn't go after it. Weiss was more fully dressed, but even she was only at the bare minimum. Their wake-up call _was_ a bit sudden, after all.

The Ruby Squad didn't look much better. The only two copies that were fully dressed were Carmine and, for some odd reason, Red. The boy didn't look tired at all, in fact. Rose was borrowing an extra set of Pyrrha's pjs, and Sapphire had on one of Carmine's spare sets. The latter also had her hair down – and Yang was struck with how it naturally formed into a style that matched all of the other Rubys.

 _I guess she really is one of them, after all._

Everybody was holding a weapon (not necessarily their own). Everyone was nervous.

Why? Because apparently Carmine had let something dangerous come through her little 'star-gate.'

… … …

 _"Okay, listen up you guys. I don't know where she is or what she's doing, but I can't let her run free. I need everyone's eyes wide open to spot her. She is_ beyond _dangerous – one wrong move and someone will die, okay? Keep. Your. Guard. Up."_

… … …

Such inspiring words. Good gods…

On the plus side, it was a nice enough night. The sky was free of clouds, allowing anyone on the ground a supreme view of the heavens in all their glittery brilliance. Yang remembered Sapphire mentioning this, but she was never a stargazer herself, so she quickly forgot about it. The air was not too chilly, with just a hint of mugginess that was typical for this time of year. Good running weather, at least for Yang.

No fog anywhere. Perfect visibility. They'd see an ambush coming a mile away.

That was the hope, anyway.

… … …

 _"All I can tell you is that she is from Remnant-6602 and that she is …a bit 'damaged' in the head. I don't have any more details than that._

 _"And just so we're clear, Rain and I had agreed to_ avoid _the sixty-six-hundred group of frequencies for this operation, since almost ALL of them involve their Ruby Rose going bad in some way – insane, evil, monster, vampire, you name it. All bad. Too far gone to help._

 _"Rain has got a LOT of explaining to do when she gets back…"_

… … …

It seemed like the more Carmine told them, the more questions were raised. It was starting to get on Yang's nerves.

As they slowly walked along the road, lit at even intervals by pole lights, Yang spotted their target. She was standing on the path, about five lights away. Her red cloak covered everything and the hood was raised, hiding her face in full shadows. She didn't move a muscle. Another chill slid down Yang's back at the sight of her (it?)

Upon sighting their target, the group spread out just a bit ( _"Not too far apart, guys!"_ ) and readied their weapons. No one moved, each waiting for the other to strike first.

Two minutes went by with no movement on either side.

The pole lights began flickering, blacking out all at once for just a split second.

The newcomer was suddenly _four_ lights away. She didn't show the slightest sign of moving.

Yang swallowed hard, hearing two others behind her doing the same.

 _How can anything be that damn fast?_

The lights flickered again, plunging the group into total blackness for another split second. Yang swore it was shorter this time.

 _Three_ lights away.

This time she heard Sapphire expand her sword into it's full saber form. Yang absently remembered she needed to ask her why she had that particular sword later on. At least three other weapons made their own expanding/loading noises. Ruby whimpered slightly from beside her.

By now the entire group could feel the air growing much colder, as though the figure before them was some kind of malevolent ice spirit. And as Yang studied the cloaked stranger, she realized that about summed it up. There was an emptiness to it… cold and emotionless, almost like one would imagine the undead to be, were they to exist. Her nerves tensed… if this thing could move that fast, they might be in for one hell of a fight…

Once again the lights flickered. She heard several dust chambers being cocked and loaded behind her, ready for the attack. Darkness fell over the group again…

They were blind for several seconds this time. Yang's heart was beating rapidly now.

But when the lights came back on, her heart nearly stopped.

Dead, lifeless gray eyes peered out at her from beneath the hood – a mere _three inches_ away from Yang's face. The thing that looked like Ruby grinned, a thin and creepy version of a smile.

Her last thought was _Damn, she's taller than me!_ …but Yang remembered nothing else before blacking out.

…

When she slowly came to, the blonde found that she could not feel any part of her body save for her head – and _that_ was being held by a hand on the face. She knew her body was still attached… just completely numb.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Yang found herself propped against the trunk of a tree some distance from any of the paved trails and the safety of the pole lights. She was actually up _in_ the tree, maybe six feet off the ground. And she wasn't alone.

Her mouth was being held shut by the Ruby-thing's hand. It stank of copper and ammonia. The smell of blood. It's face was now fully shrouded in darkness once again as it whispered, "Well now… aren't you a sight for sore eyes… I wasn't sure I'd see you again, dear sister."

Yang's eyes widened at it's words. The voice was similar to Ruby's, but it was grating and unpleasant to hear. The tone carried it's own sort of ichor, like she would need to wash her ears out to keep them from gunking up.

That and the thing's free hand was beginning to … _roam_. Drifting to places Yang had never allowed anyone to touch before. Despite the numbness, Yang's body trembled violently.

"Oh, don't be afraid… I'll be gentle… ku-ku-ku…" It's laughter was somehow even worse. Yang's skin seemed to want to crawl away all by itself at the sound of it.

 _"Unhand. Her. Now."_

The thing's eyes went wide at the sound of the new voice, but it had no chance of stopping what came next. Yang barely registered a glimmer of recognition in the Ruby-thing's eyes before it happened.

Someone pulled the thing's hood off from behind it, revealing a Ruby underneath that was oddly similar in looks to Carmine. Age-wise, anyway. As always, the hair was the same color and style – but the formerly lifeless gray eyes suddenly grew into a bright and alert silver.

With the hood removed, Yang was looking at a _completely_ different person. In every way.

"Ohmygawd… Yang?! Is that you?!" The hand let go instantly as both arms were used to embrace the blonde in the warmest hug she had ever gotten. "I was waiting for you up in Ozpin's office and Glynda was there and someone called them on the phone and then I blacked out again you know I've been doing that more and more lately I don't know why and I haven't seen Dad in a while and have you seen Mom lately I can't seem to find her no matter where I look and Yang are you listening to me Yang? _Hello?"_

The formerly cold and emotionless creature was suddenly a warm, outgoing, and hyperactive child in a young adult's body. The only change was the hood. Like switching on a light.

What the _flaming crap?_

The new voice from behind spoke again, and Yang was hit with a wave of goosebumps at the sound of it, "Oh give her a break… can't you see she's tired?"

Both Yang and her captor turned to see Ruby Rose standing there – but it was _not_ the Ruby that Yang knew. Out of all of the doppelgangers they had met so far, this one was both the most familiar …and the most _alien_.

She wore the same combat outfit… but it looked faded and worn. Ancient, even. She had the same height and build as Ruby (the only one who did, in fact)… yet her presence loomed larger than any of the other's. Even her voice was the same… yet there was a depth to it, like the difference between looking into a shallow pool of water compared to gazing over the open ocean. They were _leagues_ apart.

This new Ruby knelt down, giving her older-yet-younger counterpart a ruffling of the hair and getting a giggle in response – but she wasn't smiling. "Are you okay, Yang?"

The blonde wanted to respond, but found herself without words. Or breath, for that matter. She wanted to scream, she wanted to laugh, she wanted to ask a million questions (most of them repeated for good measure), …but she could barely manage to bring her hand up to her face.

Infinitely deep silver eyes gazed into her lavender ones. The new Ruby nodded lightly. She turned back to the Ruby-thing and calmly said, "Keep the hood _off_ for now, sport. We have some people to meet."

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _3:45 AM  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor - Ruby Squad Room_

…

Back in the repurposed dorm room next to team RWBY's, the gathering of nearly a dozen people was just getting settled. A fresh pot of coffee had been brewed for those who still needed a wake-me-up even after the adrenaline-pumping events of the night… -err, morning.

Yang dimly slurped her coffee. She didn't bother with cream or sugar this time. No one in the room did, actually.

Carmine sat at one end of the room, serving as the de facto leader of this little assembly. Sitting in the circle around the room, clockwise from the mad scientist, was Sapphire, Rose, Weiss, Blake, Cherry (who was asleep on one of the beds and purring softly), the new crazy-Ruby, the Ruby who saved Yang (no one had said so yet, but she was probably the one called Rain), Yang herself, then her Ruby, and finally Red.

Quite the crew, honestly.

" **Rain** , my dear…" Carmine was looking at the Ruby who saved Yang ( _I knew it!_ ), "…care to explain yourself?"

Slowly, as though in a daze, everyone in the room turned to look at the dusty version of Ruby who only replied with a simple, "…Nope." She popped the 'p' sound, of course.

The tension between them began to build until Yang could almost see the sparks of their gazes zapping back and forth. Nearly everyone began to feel the effect – even Cherry stirred in her sleep, her little brow furrowing.

"This… is… so… cool! I've got so many clones!" The crazy-Ruby spoke up next breaking the tension, no longer able to keep her child-like wonder in check at such a new scenario. "It's like a whole family of me! Big sisters, little sisters, a brother, and even a mommy and a daddy!"

At this outburst Rose began to choke on her drink. It didn't take a genius to figure out which one of them was supposed to be the 'daddy' here. Sapphire patted her back in a friendly manner, trying to help her get her breath back between coughs.

Carmine cleared her throat, then adjusted her glasses and said, "I suppose we'll have to sort this out later. First of all, since we're all _finally_ together in the same room, let's go around and introduce ourselves one more time for the new arrivals." She finished her cup of coffee in one big swallow, then set her mug down and motioned to Sapphire who was sitting just to her left. "Staring with _you_ , if you don't mind…"

The tall woman sighed, crossing her arms to drive home the fact that she _did_ mind but chose not to say anything. "Very well. My name is Sapphire Schnee, eldest daughter of the Schnee family and specialist of the Atlesian army. For the last three years I've been working as a combat instructor for Atlas Academy, but I was called back to active service for a short period. I was ambushed during a routine search-and-rescue mission that turned out to be a trap by the White Fang… but then I was rescued by miss Rain and brought here."

The crazy-Ruby quietly said, "Wow… she's almost as cool as Uncle Qrow…" Rain quickly shushed her.

"I guess that means I'm next," the muscular teenager said after a pause. "My name's Ruby… like almost everyone else, I guess… but you can call me Rose. I'm still just a first-year, so I don't have quite as long of a story as miss Sapphire does, but whatever. My partner back home, Coco, kinda went nuts and got into a big fight with Yang. Like, _really_ big. Rain… I guess she's called, she never told me… came in and kinda… stopped time for me? So once I get back I've got a lot of work to do to calm them both down…" She sighed, rubbing the back of her head with one hand.

No reaction this time, but other eyes turned to regard the well-spoken Rain with a new wonder. _She can stop time…?_

Carmine piped up and said, "Don't worry, Weiss. We're just doing the Rubys right now." The heiress breathed a sigh at the news. Since the next Ruby was the catgirl asleep on the bed, Carmine continued, "I'll just give her introduction so we can let her sleep. That's also a Ruby, of course, but we agreed to call her Cherry. In short, her world doesn't actually have Grimm, or any sort of monsters or evil… it's something of a paradise. I chose to pull her here because _it soon will_ , though I'm still not sure just what that will be. No one on her world is in any shape to fight it off, so I'm going to work on helping her to learn how to defend herself."

As if in response to being referred to, Cherry gave a wide yawn (along with a little squeak) and stretched her little arms out in front of her, then lightly rolled over to face the wall. Her purring resumed moments later.

Everyone in the room muffled their _squee_ so as not to wake her up.

"Oh! Oh! Is it my turn now? Is it? Is it?" the crazy-Ruby was literally bouncing up and down on her seat with excitement. "I wanna pick my own nickname! I wanna be Red Riding Hood!"

At this the boy Ruby coughed a bit and shakily said, "Um, I… k-kinda already have that name. I'm Red."

The bottom lip was extended, "Oh, poopy." She then brightened up again and tried, "How about something cool like _Blood Ruby_ …?"

Weiss spoke up here, saying, "That's a bit redundant, isn't it?"

This answer was met with a wet raspberry. "Fine then. I'll be Elektra!"

"No," Yang shot her down.

"Hello Kitty?"

" _Hell_ no," Blake snapped. "Wait, what…"

"Coriander!"

"What? Wait, why…" Yang again.

"Pinky! You know, like, _'They're Pinky… they're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain…'_ " she sang joyfully.

Rain glanced over and muttered, "You're loud."

She crossed her arms, pouting hard. "Ooh… you're no fun…"

Amidst the commotion, no one noticed that Cherry had woken up and hobbled over to where the crazy-Ruby sat. The child climbed up into her lap, stared at her with those big dinner-plate eyes and said, " **Ku** … play with me…"

Yang could only chuckle, "It seems the Great Sage and Eminent Snuggler has spoken. You are now Ku."

The newly named Ku could only hold a look of disappointment for about 1.2 seconds before breaking into a bright grin, "Oh fine. Ku it is." She then began a quiet game of patty-cake with the catgirl, ignoring everything else in the room.

The mad scientist at the front of the room murmured, "'Ku' huh? That's what she calls her big sister back home…"

Rain, the ancient Ruby look-alike, put in her two cents by gesturing towards Ku and saying, "I'll explain _her_ story later on. After we're all done here." Her tone left no room for disagreement. "And all you people need to know about me is that I'm over 2,000 years old, I've seen some serious shit, and you don't want to make me mad. Got it?" She didn't yell, growl, or raise her voice even a single decibel, but the effect was almost the same. "Also, if I warn you about something, you better be _damn_ sure you take me seriously."

Nearly everyone in the room nodded emphatically, eyes wide. This girl was starting to get a bit … _scary_.

Yang nudged her sister lightly, reminding her that it was her turn next.

"Oh! ...Oh, it's my turn, isn't it?" the redhead started hard, lost in her own thoughts. "Okay, well… since this is my world, I'm the only one who gets to be called plain ol' Ruby! Nice to meet'cha!"

Only when she got at least three nods from the room did Ruby continue, "I guess my story's the most boring, but here goes: I foiled a robbery attempt, got invited into Beacon two years early, they made me the leader of my own team, I met a bunch of nice people, made friends with Jaune and Pyrrha and a bunch of other guys, fell down a hole, tried to stop a train, killed a crap-ton of Grimm…"

"You're rambling, Rubes…" Yang said from beside her. "Keep it short."

"Oh, aha-ha-ha…" She waved her arms in front of her comically, finishing with, "Sorry, just got excited. So yeah, super basic. Nothing awesome like you guys."

When all eyes turned to regard the last redhead to speak, they were met with a bright red face and sputtering. "Geez, don't… d-don't stare so much…" Red was currently trying to force his chair to meld with the wall, hopefully taking him with it.

Not for the last time, Yang thought _You know… he is kinda cute…_

In an attempt to give an understandable speech and to keep from freaking out any more, the male Ruby took three deep breaths, then cleared his throat before saying, "So I'm… Red. S'just a nickname. Anyway, my story's pretty the same as Ruby's… except, like Carmine's pointed out, everyone back home who's a guy is suddenly a girl here, and vice versa…"

Ku popped up from her game, "What's a… 'viseverza?'"

"It's a fancy word that means 'other way around,'" Sapphire answered quickly.

Both Ku and Cherry _'ooh'_ -ed in unison.

Sensing the boy was done, Carmine suddenly jumped to her feet and said, "Oh- _kay!_ I think that's enough for tonight! I say we get some sleep and-"

 _ **BANG!**_

The redhead was standing very still, in mid-stride, no longer trying to make a break for the door. A smoking hole in the wall was evidence of the bullet that had passed less than an inch in front of the scientist's face. A large bead of sweat emerged on her forehead.

Yang's hair glowed faintly as she loaded another cartridge into Ember Celica, growling, "Sit. Your ass. _Down_."

"Yes ma'am…" came the meek response as the older woman quickly skittered back to her chair. Ku and Cherry peeked out from their hiding place behind Rose, checking to see if it was safe.

Yang continued, "I think we've all waiting long enough, _professor_. No one leaves until we've heard the full story. _So start talking_." She crossed her arms as she finished.

The corner of Rain's mouth twitched upwards. It was the closest anyone would get to seeing her smile for quite some time.

"Okay, _okay_ …" Carmine turned back to pour a fresh cup of coffee, taking a slurp. "Before I begin, let me just say that I'm going to omit some details intentionally, since they're not important right now. It started back at the dance you guys just had…" she nodded towards Yang and Ruby, who nodded back.

The Beacon Dance had been quite the show alright. The most obvious (and memorable) part was how team JNPR got together for a big dance number – with Jaune in a dress. Needless to say, he was very much the subject of other students conversations from then on. The less obvious event took place in a different part of the campus; namely, the CCT tower. Ruby had tracked some kind of burglar into it, tried to fight her (but those damn _heels_ ), and ultimately failed to catch anything other than a bruised bottom.

"My story starts at the tower. Due to random luck, I happened to notice an emblem flashing across one of the monitors. Long story short, I found and removed a virus program (with some help from Atlas technicians, of course). The woman who planted it was tracked down soon after; that was Cinder Fall, by the way." Team RWBY and Rose all twitched one eye each as she said that last part.

This time Sapphire had the look of amazement, "I'm sure our worlds have similar levels of technology, but for you to do something that even Atlas couldn't do… _that's_ hard to believe."

Carmine ignored her. "After that, I shifted my academic focus to the realm of technology and the wonders beyond. Then things happened… I invented stuff… yada-yada-omit-omit… and then I found a way to travel dimensions!"

Yang, Blake, Weiss, and Ruby all fell to the floor at the same time, their legs splayed up in a comical fashion.

Carmine took another sip of her coffee before taking a more serious tone. "That was when I met Rain… and this whole mess really began…"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Same Time  
Beacon Academy, CCT Tower, Headmaster's Office_

…

Professor Ozpin sat at his desk, once again awake at this ungodly hour, checking over the system.

His insomnia had started a few days ago, when the woman claiming to be a future Ruby Rose presented him with her impossible scenario… yet over the next few days, nothing seemed to be impossible anymore. She had pulled nearly half a dozen extra versions of Ruby into this world, something that simply should not be. One was enough, if you asked him.

And then there was her warning: Keep an eye on Cinder Fall and check the overall system status on a daily basis. _Daily._

The man didn't understand what was so important about the girl from Haven Academy that he should place any extra security on her, but he could not oppose Ironwood's demands to postpone the Vytal Festival Tournament… especially after finding an actual virus program planted into the CCT.

He sighed, ignoring his coffee. He didn't want to be awake any more than the next insomniac.

The screen next to his desk indicated that all systems were functioning normally, all within standard regulation. He sighed again, trying to dispel his growing unease.

If the woman called Carmine had been right about alternate realities and the computer virus from her own time, …what else might she be right about?

Near the bottom of the screen was five words: _Status of subject "Amber": Unchanged._

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Same Time  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor – Ruby Squad Room_

…

As she had done on the first day team RWBY met her, Carmine once again had her little holographic display put up in the center of the room for all to see. The lines that designated each timeline spread out like a three-dimensional spider web, branching out in all directions and ending somewhere past the edge.

"This all looks pretty good, yes? Nothing too unusual…"

Ten heads nodded, since no one wanted to start arguing about how _none_ of this was freaking normal.

"Yet if I zoom even further out…" she said as she fingered her scroll. The lines in mid-air compressed in on themselves until a clearly defined edge could be seen.

Ruby was the first to spot the problem, "Hey, …why are there so many blank spots?" She was pointing at the thicker bunches of lines where, as she mentioned, many of the lines came to an abrupt end. The visual was similar to a thick canopy of leaves in an old tree where something had blasted out a large section of the leaves, leaving only empty, exposed branches.

Yang's brow furrowed in concern. If these were timelines, then that would mean…

"Therein lies the issue. Both Rain and myself took careful note of these blanks. No matter how much we studied, we only found one clear answer. No matter which world we looked at, it was the same problem in all of them: A Ruby Rose died. That timeline simply collapsed afterwards, destroying everything."

"…!" Everyone in the room gave a light gasp at this news. No one said anything. Needless to say, such a serious reason was not at all what Yang was expecting to hear…

"Rose, Red and Sapphire – You three were specially chosen to stop three of the most vital timeline breakdowns. In your own time and left to your own devices, all three of you would have died, leaving not just your own worlds at risk, but all others in close proximity. By my calculations, your success would save around 2,813 individual timelines. An _uncountable_ number of lives."

Rose gulped hard. Red groaned and clutched his midsection like he might become sick at any moment. Sapphire just blinked, waiting for the rest of the information.

"As such, we felt it was necessary to bring you to a 'safe' world to prepare you for this task. 1802 had the highest rate of stability out of any world we had scanned, so here we are. I've laid out a basic training plan for each of you, but take note – we will only have about two weeks before the lingering temporal energy begins to dissipate, thus leaving you all-"

"A- _hem_ …" Yang cleared her throat, glaring daggers at the professor.

"I mean… um… _crap…_ we will only have about two weeks… before… uh… how do I say it…?"

At the pause, Rain spoke up and said, "In two weeks, the doors back to your own worlds will close. Your absence will no longer be unnoticed. Everything will quickly destabilize after that. Mission: failed."

Carmine breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Rain." She then began informing the two women and one boy of their roles over the next 14 days.

Rose will shadow team CFVY, learning everything she can about advanced team strategies, tagging along on a couple of missions, …and of course, how to better deal with Coco Adel.

Red will shadow team JNPR, learning everything he can about basic teamwork (since it's his weakness) and relationship building techniques. Nora will work on his other problem… whatever _that_ was.

Sapphire will shadow team CRDL… but not for what _she_ can learn. Her job will be to train _them_ a little bit. Once she's had enough, the Schnee woman would be free to decide her own training path.

"…"

Yang had begun to fade out by this point, drifting off to sleep whether she liked it or not. The important information had finally been given, and that was all that really mattered. She vaguely recalled further discussion about Ku… something about how she didn't really have anything to do… the term 'multiple personality disorder' was said out loud… She felt Cherry nudging her arm inquisitively… Ruby had excused herself…

Right before she passed out, Yang glanced over at Rain… who was looking her dead in the eyes.

A silent message passed over to her, ringing crystal clear into the fog of her sleep-addled mind:

 _Her hood is the trigger. Remember. And beware._

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **PARADIGM OF THE ROSE**

 **Chapter 5:** _ **  
**_ **The Reason For The Gathering**

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **=^w^=**


	6. Intermission (Morning of Day 1)

**Small warning: suggestive scene ahead (it's tame, but I'm still telling you about it…)**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _8:17 AM, Tuesday Morning  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor – Team RWBY Dorm Room_

…

As if this last Sunday morning wasn't bad enough, this morning the four teens were nearly _dead_.

The meeting was over before sunrise, giving most of the individuals involved some time to sleep before starting the day in earnest, but in truth that was harder than it sounded. The four members of team RWBY, along with the Ruby Squad, were totally exhausted. Nearly everyone's mind was whirling with conflicted emotions, questions, and general irritation. Some were frustrated. Others were troubled. Only Cherry and Ku, it seemed, could sleep peacefully.

Two weeks. That was all the time they had to get the three specific Ruby look-alikes whipped into shape to save the world.

There were other matters to attend to, however. Other issues to think about and to deal with.

There will be time enough later on to explore the inner workings of the minds of the Ruby Squad (Ruby herself included) – but for today, let us look into the thoughts of the remaining three.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Weiss_

…

She only got about two hours of sleep this time, then Weiss was awake and tossing about beneath the sheet. For the heiress, the major thought on her mind was the Rubys themselves. There was something about them that left her feeling …unsettled.

First and foremost, there was Rose. The tall, muscular version of Ruby certainly stood out among the crowd, even next to Sapphire (who was concerning for a whole different reason). Yet there was something that had started bothering Weiss right away… something she first noticed at the breakfast table the other day…

To her eyes, Weiss thought Rose was …changing size. Somehow.

It didn't make any sense – when she first saw the taller redhead, Weiss saw a girl with well-defined arms who stood taller than Yang, and remained so throughout the day. The next day, at breakfast, she seemed …smaller. Just a little. Nearly imperceptible, but there it was.

Stranger still was how she looked earlier this morning as they were all heading out to meet the girl who they'd soon call Ku – there she looked even _smaller_ … but again, just a little. It was baffling… but then, everything was getting twisted. At times she felt like the only member of the group with any common sense.

Sapphire was the other matter. The self-proclaimed Schnee had no business using glyphs – yet she used them all the same. Both she and Weiss were well aware that only members of the Schnee family – by blood – should be able to do this, and Ruby Rose _could_ and _should_ not qualify for that. There was just no way.

Yet she did. The woman seemed to exist solely to frustrate and defy Weiss.

The girl flipped over again on the bed, grunting lightly with the exertion. She sighed, sending her mind toward what she hoped were more pleasant thoughts.

She definitely liked Cherry (although who _didn't_ at this point?), and she was quickly warming up to Ku (but made up her mind to ask about that creepy …thing later today). Carmine reminded Weiss of a 'game master' of sorts – someone who ran the game and delighted to see the players struggling. The boy called Red had a long way to go before she would trust him to do little more than lift the lid.

And then, of course, there was Rain. The heiress shivered a bit as she remembered the girl's ice-cold stare.

What could leave a person so …emotionally _dead?_ What horrors could she have seen?

And she claimed to be 2,000 years old… how many people has she seen die?

Weiss swallowed hard, her throat dry, as she squeezed her eyes shut. That was something she really didn't want to think about right now.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Blake_

…

The brunette's mind was currently thinking back to a few hours ago, just after their meeting had finished.

… … …

 _As Ruby and Weiss helped drag Yang back to their own dorm room, Blake spied the ancient Ruby called Rain drifting off down the hall. The other members of the Ruby Squad left in the room seemed mostly preoccupied with getting back to sleep or getting ready for the rest of the day. She chose to follow Rain, keeping a short distance behind until she saw the girl pause by one of the hallway windows and stare up into the night sky. Blake walked over and stood next to her, admiring the view as well._

 _"They're different," Rain quietly said._

 _"What's different?" Blake responded._

 _"The stars… they're in a different pattern than what I know."_

 _They were silent for a few minutes. The noise of the others moving around had faded into nothingness, leaving the two in total silence. Blake couldn't help but notice how the dark red color of Ruby's hair (all of them) looked pure black in this low light..._

 _"730 years, …give or take a few decades," Rain said, suddenly._

 _"…Huh?" was the only answer Blake could mutter._

 _"That's how long it's been since I last stood within the walls of Beacon Academy. While it was in once piece, anyway."_

 _The faunus had no response to that. She simply stood there, glancing between the starry heavens and the ancient girl in the red cloak. It was probably impossible to imagine the span of time she must have endured until now… and to think she might have been alone…_

 _A sigh, followed by, "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. It doesn't matter. Nothing does." She turned and slowly walked away from the dorm rooms, muttering, "I'm heading to the roof."_

 _All Blake could see in her departing back was total despair, hopelessness, and the complete disillusionment of a girl who once dreamed of greatness – only to be cursed to watch time flow by without her. Such emptiness, such crushing loneliness… the faunus felt her heart beginning to break as the girl vanished into the darkness of the hallway._

… … …

Blake wiped the lone tear off her face before sighing deeply. There would be time to consider the ancient girl later on.

First she had business to attend to.

Her right hand drifted beneath the covers, heading for the space between her legs. The brunette's thoughts went to the newest object of her obsession… the girl who was everything she ever wanted to _pounce_ on… the girl called Rose.

She got to work, biting down on her pillow to avoid making even the slightest noise.

Blake had always had a big-muscle fetish, something she was not too keen on sharing with the others… mainly since one of them fit neatly into her personal preferences. There was something about a nice set of toned, sweaty, well-defined muscles that caused the faunus to go rather quickly into the 'hot and bothered' zone. Her mother called it 'going into heat.' Blake just called it being horny.

Sun Wukong had a stronger affect on Blake than Yang did (those damn _abs_ ), so that was a good thing in her book. With Yang, she liked both the blonde's arms and legs – they were toned, but still sexy as hell. Blake never cared whether the one with the muscles was a boy or a girl, both had an equal effect on her hormones… but she'd never met _anyone_ like Rose.

Her hand began moving faster, harder. She almost bit through the pillowcase.

When the girl came into the room for the first time that Sunday morning, Blake's first impulse was to bury her nose in the girl's hair and run her hands over every inch of that delicious body… It was better the next day, likely because Blake had slept a bit… better still the next few times, but she guessed it was because Rose had taken a shower. During these last few days, more than once did the following thought cross her mind: _Does that girl sweat catnip or something? Good GODS!_

She finished quietly, making a bad smell waft up to her nose from beneath the covers.

Well, _shit_ … she really had it bad.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Yang_

…

The blonde heard the movement and the light moans coming from beneath her, but chose to ignore them. Blake's business, not hers.

She also heard the creaking mattress as Weiss turned over again, but ignored that too.

No, Yang's mind was one a single thought that brought her fully awake less than an hour ago. A thought from their little meeting just a bit ago. Something that just …didn't … _fit_.

Carmine had said that the breaks in the timelines were caused by 'a Ruby Rose dying' …but how could that be the cause? Surely one person's death could not destroy all of time and space all by itself… could it? There had to be more than that.

She had come to two conclusions: 1) Either Carmine had more details on the matter that she was intentionally withholding, or 2) there was other, more important information that the woman had somehow simply failed to collect, thereby leaving everyone in the dark. Neither option was good, obviously …but it was hard to tell which was worse.

The blonde brawler never pretended to be a genius. Science was not her strong point (and for that matter, neither was science-fiction), but even _she_ could tell something was amiss. She hoped, desperately, that the piece they were missing wasn't the most important one. The one piece that would make all the difference.

"…"

She was hit by a sudden memory, interrupting her thoughts. The coppery smell, and a hand over her mouth.

She had seen Ku's hands later on, during the meeting. They were clean… _really_ clean… but she hadn't had time to wash them before then.

So why the hell did they smell so strongly of blood?

Yang shivered, pulling her covers up over her nose in an effort to smell something else.

She didn't want to know the answer.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _The tale of the next two weeks will be a long one, full of exciting moments, new meetings, danger and intrigue._

 _Ku's dark side will make a return. A student will meet his new teacher._

 _The creatures of Grimm will attack, only to be cut down. Evil will continue to stir behind the scenes._

 _And the clock will keep ticking…_

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **PARADIGM OF THE ROSE**

 **Chapter 6:** _  
_ **Intermission (Morning of Day 1)**

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, just a few things to get out of the way. First, I am aware that the sexual preferences of the characters is not fully accurate to the canon (at least, I assume so). Blake being bi is simply for the sake of the story. Second, this chapter was meant to be short as it only serves as a transition chapter – the next nine chapters are pure character development.**

 **=^w^=**


	7. Cat's Eye

…

… … …

… … … … …

Previously on Paradigm of the Rose:

Within the span of three days, team RWBY had become acquainted with seven different alternate-universe copies of Ruby Rose. In between all of the confusion and chaos, they finally learned why all of this was happening in the first place: all of space and time is being threatened, and the only way to save it is to help three of the AU-Rubys (Rose, Red, and Sapphire) become strong enough to survive their ordeals.

They only have two weeks to get ready, and the consequences of losing are dire indeed…

… … … … …

… … …

…

… … …

 _The laughter of the children echoed down the hillside to where the mother and child sat on the front porch of the house. The single-floor cabin wasn't very big – but for a family like Ruby's, it was just right._

 _The young girl was trying hard to keep her tears from falling, but little by little her face became rather damp. She'd scraped her knee on a rock. It hurt. Oh it hurt so bad. Her tail was swishing the wood behind her and her ears were flat against her head in agony._

 _But she couldn't let herself cry. She was a Big Girl._

 _"You're so brave, little one…" her mama said comfortingly. Her purring voice was soft and gentle. Soothing. "The other kids would have been mewling their little eyes out by now." She said with a smile. She was currently rubbing an ointment on the scrape, the kind that stung like the bite of a hornet. And she didn't care what Big Sis said – hornets_ bite _, darn it._

 _This was home. Here, she was simply called Ruby. It would be some time before she went to the place where they called her Cherry._

 _Mama's long tail swayed side-to-side as she started saying, "Now Ruby, when you go back up there…"_

 _"I'm not going back up there! *sniff* Sammy pushed me! Big meanie-head…" *sniff* She whined, the tears falling a bit more freely now._

 _The woman looked at her with the calm assurance of an experienced mother. And she was, too – little Ruby had no less than five brothers and sisters. It was a good-sized litter. "I'm sure it was an accident, Ruby. You and Sammy are good friends. If he says sorry…" Mama turned Ruby's face up to hers, their silver eyes locked onto each other, and said, "Would you please forgive him?"_

 _Ruby looked for a minute longer, sniffed, and muttered, "…Okay, mama."_

 _The woman burst into a smile bright enough to make the sun jealous. She gripped the child in a big hug and beamed, "Ooh, you're my favorite Ruby!"_

 _The child squeaked in protest, saying, "Mamaaaaa~ …I'm your_ only _Ruby!"_

 _They parted from the hug and Mama gave her a wet razzberry. The child gave it right back. Both were grinning._

 _Then the tickling began. Mama's longer arms proved invaluable for reaching her child's weak spots. No amount of squirming would allow her to escape her fate. The tears that fell now came bundled with huffs of laughter. The final blow came by way of a vicious belly-fart to the girl's midsection, prompting a happy squeal from the poor child._

 _The pair laughed merrily, matching the sounds still floating their way on the fading breeze. Overhead, a lone gray cloud drifted by on it's way to nowhere in particular._

… … …

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 7:** _ **  
**_ **Cat's Eye**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _10:00 AM, Wednesday  
Beacon Academy South Courtyard, The Gardens_

 _(Morning of Day 2)_

…

She liked it out here. Nice and sunny, and no one around to bother her.

The young catgirl was currently curled up in a ball under the shade of a large oak tree, dozing peacefully. Low purrs made their way out of her throat every few minutes. Her tail lay still around her feet. Warm drops of sunshine danced across her face as the light fell through the treetops. A single leaf landed on one of her large cat-like ears and was absently flicked away.

Cherry was happy.

She was wearing what she had on when she first came to this new world, a simple black tunic (that looked just like Big Sister's clothes) and a red cape her Mama had given her a few months ago. Her shoes were still okay, but she would soon grow out of them and need new ones.

Her ears twitched to one side – a noise had woken her up. A cry of pain and a coarse laugh. Cherry cracked open her eyes and examined the source.

Across the empty plaza stood five of the Tall Ones. Four of them were guys that smelled of the Bad – people who enjoyed being mean. Cherry had always made a point to keep away from the Bad whenever she could. They were never nice and would always pull on ears, or tails, or anything else they could grab. Bunch of meanie-heads, they were.

The other one smelled of old paper and green tea. She had bunny ears sticking out of her head. Cherry thought she was similar to another girl she knew back home, but the smell was a bit different. She also seemed to be in pain. The Bad ones were pulling her ears and laughing.

Cherry's tail began to twitch in irritation.

Mama had always told her that there were two kinds of people who laughed like that – the good kind, where everyone was laughing together, and the bad kind, where everyone else was laughing at the one who was crying. She hated to see it. She knew Big Sis would hate it, too… and so Cherry did what she had always been told _not_ to do in times like this.

She got involved.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Velvet Scarlatina was a bit weary. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to these days.

Her team's troubles seemed to have started with that mission they _finally_ finished …right before The Breach happened (which was yet another problem). Then to make matters worse, the higher-ups went and postponed the Vytal Festival Tournament! What a bummer.

On the plus side, that gave them a bit of time to rest. Also, Amity Stadium would be docked nearby for the time being, giving the citizens of Vale something to look forward to.

While the postponement would give them another two weeks or so of standard festival activities (which were always welcome), it would also mean an additional two weeks of giant airships in the skies over the city. The Atlas Military had been deployed to Vale for the festival, but now that the tournament was postponed… well, they'd be stuck in the shadow of war machines for that much longer.

The faunus was not looking forward to the delay. But at least it gave her a chance to take more pictures.

Among the student population of Beacon Academy, only about 8-10% were faunus (and that was probably a generous estimate). Half of those faunus were the hardest workers in the school – they were the kind who would rather take away any excuse to be ridiculed with their own hands. The other half were the wall flowers, the quiet ones who preferred to simply keep to themselves. Velvet was one of them. It was true that the members of her team were working hard to get her to come out of her shell, but she was a tough nut to crack. She had to be. When you grow up with a target on your back, sometimes that's your only defense.

Just to be clear, Velvet didn't _hate_ anybody. She was too nice for that. But Cardin Winchester came really, _really_ close.

For one thing, wasn't he supposed to give her at least some respect? She was a second-year, and senior over both him and the rest of his team. So what if she wasn't a team leader like he was? So what if she was a faunus and he was a human? That shouldn't matter. It was a fact that all four of these boys loved nothing more than driving her crazy. Was it any wonder that she preferred to be by herself? Sheesh.

Which made it all the worse whenever they cornered her like this. And they always seemed to know when she was too far away from Yatsuhashi and the others to call for help. They wouldn't _dare_ do this if Coco was nearby.

They were pulling on her ears again. She hated when they did that. They had only been reprimanded once for the act, and only because they'd pulled hard enough to cause physical damage at the base of the ears. They got quite the scolding from the school nurse and promised to never do it again. Naturally, what they meant was they'd never get caught again. Buncha' jerks.

In the midst of her torment, Velvet suddenly heard a scampering noise, followed by a cry of pain from Dove Bronzewing. He was standing furthest out from the group.

Everyone turned to find a tiny version of Ruby Rose, the captain of the first-year team RWBY, latched onto the boy's leg and biting it, growling angrily. She also had cat ears and a tail for some reason – the ears were flat and the tail was lashing about. She reminded Velvet of a pissed off tabby cat.

Dove shook her loose and tried to kick her, but she dodged nimbly and darted around to Russell Thrush. The small girl leapt up and drove her head into his midsection hard, knocking the wind out of him and sending him stumbling backwards. Sky Lark stepped up next, giving an angry cry of, "…Little _shit!"_ as he took a swing at the child – only for the catgirl to duck around his fist and sink her nails into his forearm like claws. He yelped in surprise and pain.

With three of the four dealt with, the small child hopped over to where Velvet was standing and took a ready stance, growling lightly. Her ears were flat against her head and her tail was fluffed up to twice it's normal thickness, flicking rapidly. Challenging them to try and get past her.

Velvet was almost startled enough to run away. Almost.

…

Cherry was _mad_ for the first time she could remember.

She knew why, too – the Bad ones were bull-ees (a word she learned from Big Sis Yang). She really didn't like the bull-ees. She knew that the bunny girl needed help and there was no one else coming over to help her. She would have smelled them coming if they were.

The scary part was that she was getting madder. Like she couldn't _stop_. When she landed in front of the bunny girl, Cherry was only going to scare the Bad Ones off. And if they tried to get closer she'd bite them again.

But then her vision began to fade to red (her favorite color, by the way). She fought back the urge to jump forward and try to bite their necks – and she didn't even _want_ to do that. They probably stank up close. They were saying something to each other, but Cherry couldn't hear it. The blood was pumping in her ears too loudly, leaving the world behind in a dull roar.

And she wanted to bite them. _Badly_.

It was getting harder to control herself the longer she looked at their big, stupid faces.

…

By this point in time Cardin Winchester wasn't feeling too good about himself. First he'd been getting awakened during the night by a bunch of loud noises, losing a fair amount of sleep as a result. Then he'd had a run-in with some army chick who treated him like a worthless insect (and he threatened to contact that general dude and get her in trouble if she didn't leave him alone). And now, in the middle of messing with the animal, another one jumps in. Not only that, but the rest of his team can't even touch it!

"Hey… look at her eyes, man! Kid's freaking out, man!" Dove's sage comment pulled the rest of the team's attention to the small girl standing between them and the faunus chick. At first there was nothing but the eerily familiar silver color they'd all seen before.

Then, for just a moment, the eyes turned blood-red. And the kid was looking even _more_ pissed than before.

Cardin finally decided to try and save face. "Buncha losers is what y'all are… whipped by a damn squirt." He tried to remain as calm as possible, but anyone with eyes could see the sweat breaking out on his brow. He was scared, too. "We got some trainin' to do, losers. I'm not puttin' up with a team that can't handle a little pussycat!" He spat the last word for emphasis.

His next few words caught in his throat as he glanced at the little beast – because it appeared to be having convulsions of some kind. Hard spasms in her arms and legs. Her face was tight with teeth bared, a look of someone putting a lot of effort into something (he _would_ have said she looked like she was taking a shit, but this was not a good time to joke). It looked like her little fangs were longer than before, too. The taller boy would later swear he felt a real killing intent at that moment.

Was Cardin seeing things… or was this kid… _changing?_

"Time to go, morons! Sparring center! _Now!"_ He quickly said to his squad, doing an admirable job of keeping the trembling out of his voice. He turned back to Velvet and said, as cool as can be, "We'll see you later. Have fun with your little doggie!" And then team CRDL was gone.

…

Velvet watched the dust cloud rising from their hasty retreat with growing contempt. What the heck was his problem, anyway?

She then realized that the anger and tension in her immediate vicinity had suddenly vanished. The kid just sat right down on her little rump in the middle of the plaza, now with her arms crossed and all the anger drained out of her body. Her expression dripped with disgust, her bottom lip stuck out half an inch. She was sulking.

"Cherry's not a doggie…" she pouted. Her ears were low on her head again, this time in sorrow. Her tail was tucked tightly against her side. "Big meanie-heads…"

Velvet couldn't help but chuckle at how cute she was.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Cherry was now sitting next to the paper-and-tea-smelling bunny girl (she said her name was Vel-vet) on a bench near the spot she was napping at earlier. The taller girl talked a bit funny, but the child had no trouble understanding her words (most of them, anyway). Instead she was taken in by the smells.

And there were so many! Other than Vel-vet's two main smells, Cherry found herself discovering dozens of new ones just underneath. She found three types of chocolate, a rich cake of some kind, large amounts of herbs, a few flowers, a hint of coffee (a smell Cherry was quite familiar with by this point), and other, less pleasant smells. Oil and metal. Body sweat. A hint of blood. It became a bit unpleasant but the girl kept sniffing anyway, like she was looking for buried treasure.

"Um… are you okay?" She said _are_ like _ah_. Vel-vet seemed a bit uncomfortable. She did have a strange child sniffing her after all.

The kid stopped, sat back on her heels and smiled. "Cherry," the girl said proudly. Vel-vet only blinked. She tried again, placing a hand on her chest to make it clearer, "Cherry."

"Ah, okay… that's your name. I like it. It's cute." The faunus grinned brightly and gave Cherry a light scratching between her ears. The child purred in gratitude.

They sat together for a few more minutes, but then something in Vel-vet's pocket beeped, a shrill sound that made Cherry's ears ache. She pulled out her glow-box (why did everyone have one of those?) and looked at it for a bit. She stood up and began to walk away, then turned back to say something… but stopped once she saw the girl had gotten up to follow her.

"Oh… Are you gonna come with me, little one?" She said with a grin.

Cherry nodded, her body swaying under the weight of her head. "Yep. I'm gonna keep Big Sister Vel-vet safe from the big Meanie-heads!" She pumped one little fist into the air to drive the point home. "I'll fight 'em off for you!"

Vel-vet made the same _squee_ noise the others usually did when she said more than a few words (and sometimes when she said nothing at all, leaving her quite confused). But she didn't reject Cherry's offer, and the two of them made their way back inside the main building. Cherry grabbed Vel-vet's hand before they got too far, though – her short legs were bad at letting her keep up with the Tall Ones.

During their short walk, the school's PA system kicked on with a man's voice saying, "Mister Winchester, please report to my office… _immediately."_

Vel-vet muttered a short, "Uh-oh…" as they continued. She sounded worried.

…

They soon met up with three other Tall Ones – all of whom smelled even _more_ like desserts to Cherry – and made their way to the main courtyard. The newer girl practically reeked of coffee. Cherry wrinkled her nose when she first approached Coco Adel, the teenager in brown.

"And who is this adorable little thing, Velvet?" She had cooed upon first seeing them, peeking over her designer sunglasses. "Ooh, …I just wanna eat her up!"

Cherry squeaked and ducked behind Vel-vet's leg, giving coffee-girl a look of open suspicion. The other two Tall Ones, both guys, simply shook their heads in exasperation. They've clearly had to deal with her before.

"Her name is Cherry and she's just following me around for a bit," the faunus said as she reached back and patted Cherry's head lightly. "She's gonna 'protect me from the big Meanie-heads,' is what she said." Vel-vet couldn't help but grin when she used the girl's own words.

The tallest boy, who smelled of bitter tea and body odor, said, "Team CRDL again?" Cherry liked his voice. It was nice in her ears. If there was one thing Yatsuhashi Daichi was not known for, it was his conversation skills. He was that quiet.

Vel-vet nodded grimly, her smiled faded. "Yeah. They just can't leave me alone anymore." _Can't_ came out as _con't_. Cherry blinked as she processed the word.

"So _she_ scared them off?" the other boy asked with a touch of shock. He was shorter and his eyes were a bit weird, but Cherry didn't mind. He smelled like things Cherry hadn't smelled before, and she was a bit curious to know what they were…

"Yep, she got all mad and started biting them. They looked like they were gonna wet their pants- ...oh, uh, don't mind her, Fox. She did that to me a lot, too." Vel-vet smiled apologetically. The little catgirl was leaning close to the boy and sniffed for several awkward moments. Fox Alistair seemed to be at a loss for what to do.

"You smell funny…" Cherry said very matter-of-factly. It was an honest opinion and she meant it to be totally normal. The girl was understandably confused when three of the Tall Ones began 'laughing their heads off,' as Big Sis would have said. She wasn't trying to be funny …but the Tall Ones were just strange like that.

She didn't mind, though. They liked her enough to give her scratches between the ears, so she put up with them.

She liked getting scratches between the ears.

…

The coffee-smelling girl had gone to the city, part of a small group called out by the one called Carmine (who Cherry thought smelled like sour water). It had something to do with assigning some of the Ruby Squad to a few of the teams. Rose (the one who smelled like poop all the time) and Red (the boy who smelled like fear and cheap body spray) were there as well. Cherry was asked if she wanted to go, but it was noisy in the city. She liked it here instead.

Cherry got to hang out with Vel-vet for the day as a result, which was great. The other, taller boys had gone off to 'stud-ee' for awhile, leaving them to hang out on their own. Cherry liked sitting in Vel-vet's lap.

The child had known a bunnygirl back home just like Vel-vet. Caiti was her name. She liked to write little stories and tell them to all the kids of the village. Cherry loved the stories, they were funny and made her laugh. She missed Caiti. She then realized that now she had a story for Caiti when she got home. She was looking forward to that.

But right now Cherry had a job to do. She was a Big Girl, after all.

First they went to a giant room with big long tables. Vel-vet got a sandwich for them to share called a 'pee-bee-en-jay.' It was salty and sweet but made Cherry's teeth all sticky. Her attempts at cleaning her face off were met with more squee noises.

On their way to the next room, Vel-vet and Cherry saw the big Bad One walking down the hallway towards them. Vel-vet moved them to the edge of the walkway to let him pass, the child holding her hand and giving the boy her best glare. Cardin didn't even see them. He just walked along, his face downcast and staring at the floor.

As he passed, Cherry smelled something odd coming from Vel-vet… but she didn't know what it was. She looked up and found the bunny girl staring after him with a look that was almost… sorry. Like she didn't want him to get in trouble.

Remember, Velvet didn't _hate_ anybody.

Eventually the pair found themselves in a large room full of dust and paper. That was all Cherry smelled, anyway. There were shelves that seemed to stretch miles into the air – but Vel-vet reached the tops with relative ease. She was gathering books. Cherry held some for her, but the dust on some of them leapt into her nose. She had to put the books down to sneeze it all out. She could hear more _squee_ noises between sneezes and wondered why everyone did that all the time. It was almost like some kind of greeting to these people.

On their way out Cherry let loose one more sneeze, this time falling on her bottom with a little grunt when she did so. Nearly the entire room _squee'd_ behind her.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Several hours had passed by now and the pair found themselves back in the south courtyard where they first met. Sitting on that same bench, too. Vel-vet was reading one of her big books and looked very interested in it. It was amazing how anyone could read such a big book that didn't have one single picture in it.

Cherry was tired. After taking one last sniff to make sure no one was coming (all was clear, she proudly decided), Cherry adjusted herself on the bench next to Vel-vet and laid down, placing her head on her folded arms and tucking her tail around her feet.

The taller girl's hand absently went to the place between Cherry's ears and began rubbing it, causing no small amount of pleasure in the young catgirl. Cherry squirmed on the bench, trying to get into a better position for more rubbing. Her purring was loud enough that anyone who passed would have clearly heard it, but no one did.

Since her eyes were closed, Cherry didn't notice that Vel-vet had closed her book in order to give the child her full attention. The rubbing became more focused, more intense. The catgirl squirmed more, loving every second of it.

Eventually Cherry put her head on Vel-vet's lap, hoping for more. She was not disappointed.

…

This kid was more like an actual cat than a faunus. Of that, Velvet was now certain.

It was mainly the way the child acted like a cat, shamelessly growling and hissing at the boys of team CRDL if they passed by (which Velvet did not mind at all), as well as the little mannerisms the girl was probably totally unaware of. She would occasionally rub her ears with her hand in a paw shape, for example. That little cat-sneeze fit she had in the library was completely adorable, too – and it looked like everyone else agreed. If they weren't all busy studying she figured the kid would have been crushed by their hugs. Heck, that's what she wanted to do, too.

All in all, this was probably the most peaceful day Velvet had experienced in a long time. And it wasn't just being protected from the 'big meanie-heads' – she felt like she was bonding with this catgirl version of Ruby Rose, a human girl she hadn't had much interaction with, to be honest. Velvet made a mental note to try and make Rubys acquaintance someday. If she was anything like this little furball, then she figured they'd get along just fine.

The faunus also spared a thought for Cardin Winchester, a boy whose future was less than certain at the moment. Velvet heard the announcement just like everyone else, but she had a more …personal connection to the events that prompted it. The look of shock on Cardin's face made Velvet wonder just what kind of punishment he'd been handed. The bunny girl grinned a half-grin as she realized something – if anyone knew that she actually felt _sorry_ for the young man, they'd probably flip out. She really didn't hate him, despite having lots of reason to.

In truth, Velvet didn't _want_ to know what happened to Cardin. She'd probably lose sleep out of guilt.

The purring brought her back to reality. Velvet had never considered owning any kind of pet (it's a faunus thing), but with little Cherry following her around like this, she felt like she had her very own kittycat. This kid was just too cute for words. Not once during the day today did Velvet think to ask where this kid had come from. Neither did she meet any other members of the Ruby Squad – that wouldn't happen until tomorrow when all of team CFVY would finally meet Rose.

And now, sitting on the same old bench from earlier in the day, little Cherry was demanding some lovin' …in this case, scratches between her large kitty ears. Velvet was more than happy to oblige.

The faunus' self-control was tested to it's limits when the girl practically climbed into her lap, purring all the way. Damn it… she really wanted to snuggle the living crap out of this kid… it was almost unfair.

Slowly but surely Cherry fell asleep on Velvet's lap, giving a soft and constant purr like a running motor. The taller girl smiled warmly and gently picked her book back up to continue reading.

And at this moment, there was nowhere else she'd rather be.

…

…

…

It was 3:35 in the afternoon when Velvet's thoughts were interrupted by a deep, soul-crushing chill that swept over her all at once, causing the faunus to give a violent shiver. Cherry's purring stopped at that same instant and she gave a sad little mewling sound. To Velvet it sounded like the girl was crying. So she felt it too, it seemed.

…

…Just what the hell _was_ that?

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **=^w^=**


	8. The Shadow Returns

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _3:32 PM, Wednesday  
City of Vale, Warehouse District, Unit 210_

 _(Afternoon of Day 2)_

…

The rusty metal door had never had good reason to give any protest before today, but when the ginger-haired man burst through it in a huff, it decided to whine rather loudly. It then slammed shut behind the shorter pink-and-brown-haired girl who followed close behind him. It had nothing more to say on the matter.

"Stupid… freaking… smelly… _animals_ …" Roman was in a less-than-cheerful mood, something Neo had gotten rather used to by now. This was the third time in a row they'd been kicked out of a White Fang meeting and the taller man's mood was growing ever more sour after each one. The henchwoman was maintaining a greater distance from her boss as the day progressed – out of his reach, in other words. She absently pulled a banana peel from her shoulder as they walked. She considered pulling the splattered tomato from his back, but she decided it would just as soon fall off on it's own.

Although their relationship had begun as a purely professional one, the girl called Neopolitan _wanted_ to think that she and Roman Torchwick were becoming closer. More like actual partners. She knew there was nothing to fear from either Emerald or Mercury – as it was now, those two were only a few screw-ups away from being tossed out on their asses. That Cinder woman was currently acting as Roman's boss, but both he and Neo were well aware of the fact that she was just a figurehead for the real force working behind the scenes. She didn't want to think about _that_ person.

She sighed. Everything had gone screwy ever since the day they first met Cinder Fall. How Neo wished she could just go back in time and prevent that meeting… she missed the good ol' days of robbing banks and running from the cops…

"Whatever you're thinking about, knock it off. We've still got work to do." Roman was looking at her over his shoulder, clearly annoyed at the delay but less angry than before. That was a plus, at least. Neo wiped off whatever stupid grin she'd been wearing and hopped a bit closer, giving her handmade umbrella a twirl as she did.

The short girl found she had a sudden urge to hold Roman's hand as they walked, startling her just a bit. Seriously, where'd _that_ come from? Their relationship was 'purely professional.'

Right?

Roman's scroll rang, jarring the girl out of her thoughts as he answered with a gruff, "Hello? … … …Yes, we were just… Gee, what do _you_ think? I _told_ you they'd… … … … … no… … …"

Neo sighed. Cinder again. She didn't think she'd ever find a way to get along with that woman.

"…Right… … … understood… yes, I know… … …" The ginger-haired man sighed deeply, rolling his eyes as he continued listening. That, at least, he could do without fear of repercussion. He glanced at his watch. "Well, we've got one more meeting to crash today, then Neo and I will be hitting the closest ice cream shop…" He abruptly hung up on Cinder, then added, "…and no, I'm not getting you one."

Neo giggled. That man had such a fun sense of humor some… times… _Whoa, …what the hell was that…?_

A sudden chill hit both Neo and Roman at the same time, causing the taller man to let out a sharp groan as his whole body shook. He very nearly dropped his scroll, it was so strong. The girl had a sudden sensation of …darkness. Of cold, empty, darkness. Somewhere in the city.

Neo frowned. She had a sudden feeling that the trip to the ice cream shop had just been cancelled.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 8:** _ **  
**_ **The Shadow Returns**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _3:30 PM, Same Day  
Beacon Academy, CCT Tower, Headmaster's Office_

…

"Simply preposterous," Doctor Oobleck exclaimed with his usual rapid caffeine-fueled tempo. "Why, none of that makes any sense! There is simply no possible way such an outlandish story could be true."

Ozpin sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his free hand as he cradled his coffee with the other. "I admit much of the tale this Carmine has told is rather… hard to believe, yet the current situation has provided her with overwhelming evidence to support her theory. After all, you can't ignore our …newest visitors so easily." The four people in the room knew exactly who the headmaster was talking about.

"These 'visitors' as you call them… who's to say they aren't all merely normal teenagers and young adults that have been paid to dress themselves in these rather… specific ways? No, no, Professor Ozpin, I know what you're going to say… but the simple fact is that this Carmine person's theory about multiple timelines is utter nonsense. If each and every one of these worlds is spawned from each and every individual person's daily choices, why… there would be _billions upon billions!_ Exponentially uncountable worlds that no mortal mind could even hope to conceive of, never mind the idea that anyone could find a way to travel between them…"

"The good doctor's point aside," a calmer voice cut in, "my experts have assured me that the technical part of her story, at least, checks out. There _was_ evidence of a powerful virus program that she 'claimed' to have removed." General James Ironwood stood just to one side of Ozpin's desk, his single gloved hand holding his own mug. He sipped it carefully, then continued, "I've put the entire CCT on alert and managed to lock down all access outside of the physical terminals within the tower itself. No one but authorized personnel will be allowed to set foot in the facility until we know it's clean."

Neither Oobleck nor Ironwood had any more to add. Glynda Goodwitch also stood beside Ozpin's desk, albeit on the other side from Ironwood. The four occupants of the room quietly pondered the information that had been given over the last several days, along with all the new input from each other. Oobleck did have a valid point, really. This was all simply too good… too convenient in some ways… to be true.

"While the other so-called 'look-alikes' can take care of themselves," Ozpin finally said. "My primary concerns are with just two: Carmine and the one who calls herself Rain. Claim what you like about the others, miss Rain is almost identical to Ruby Rose in nearly every way."

He pulled up an image of Rain taken from a security camera, then placed it next to Ruby's school photo. There was almost no difference in detail between the two girls.

This time Glynda spoke up, adding, "Other than the way she seems to be looking a hundred years into the distance…"

Oobleck had nothing to say to that. The green-haired professor hadn't actually met Rain yet, but even a casual observation of her face was enough to drive home Ozpin's point. The similarity between her and Ruby Rose was downright eerie.

Ironwood's scroll beeped a call. A man with thinning hair and a thick mustache gave his report. "Everything checks out, sir. The system is as secure as can be. Will there be anything else?"

"No, Doctor Watts. Thank you for your assistance."

The man smiled, his facial hair bending a little _too_ far, and said, "My pleasure, General."

Ironwood sighed as he hung up, "Engineers." He looked the room over and asked, "Where is Carmine now?"

Ozpin took another drink and said, "She and a few of the other students are in town right about now… although I don't know what… what… …" but he found his words locking up in his throat as his body gave a violent shiver. All three other people in the room were also shaking.

Professor Ozpin, a man who had faced more than his fair share of demons, monsters, and pure evil, was in familiar territory. The chill was the same. Even Ironwood had some inkling as to what it was, but his time as General of the Atlas Military was not long enough to give him the needed experience to know it the way the headmaster knew it. This was the rare sort of evil that took great delight in causing death and destruction.

The chill was the same. The evil was the same. Ozpin could feel it from here.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _3:25 PM, Same Day  
City of Vale, Central Square Shopping Plaza_

…

Their day started innocently enough. Just nine teenagers and three adults wandering around downtown Vale, looking for fun things to occupy their time.

The teenagers included five who actually had to be there, and four who just kind of… showed up anyway. Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc and Coco Adel were present as the leaders of their respective teams. Coco was by herself, but Yang tagged along with Ruby and …well, pretty much all of team JNPR came with Jaune. Pyrrha walked right next to Jaune. Ren tagged along out of sheer boredom, which meant that Nora came along as well. Naturally.

The adults included Carmine the Mad Scientist, Sapphire the Atlesian Specialist, and the girl simply called Ku (she was actually in her twenties). The final two teenagers were Red (the male Ruby) and Rose (the, uh, …buff Ruby). Sapphire, Red, and Rose made up the most important trio – the Ruby's who needed to save the world. Or worlds. Whatever.

It was a lot to take in, and honestly most of the ones involved still didn't get it.

"All I'm saying is that for a game that pays so much attention to details, it's a bit odd they'd call them dragons. In technical terms, a dragon has four legs and two wings – the creatures in the game are all wyverns. Two legs and two wings. They're not the same." Yang as busy trying to drive home her point about one of the many video games she played in her free time that wasn't of the fighting genre.

Pyrrha and Jaune were only half-listening (they weren't familiar with the game Yang was referring to), but the blonde had Ruby, Nora and Red's full attention. Ruby said, "I guess for the development team, anything large and reptilian is just a dragon. They think they're all the same."

Red spoke next, doing an admirable job of keeping his voice steady while walking next to Nora, "That's like saying all Grimm are the same. Anyone who's fought a few knows about the d-different kinds."

"I wanna see a dragon Grimm! That would be so cool! And it'd probably be all big and scary… Oh man…" Nora's eyes were alight with glee at the prospect of battling something as awesome-sounding as a dragon Grimm. She was practically dancing in the street.

"There have been no reports of any dragon-type Grimm in any historical record in all of Remnant." A new, chipper voice spoke up next to them. "However, with the rate of new Grimm being discovered each year, it's only a matter of time before such a creature makes itself known, if it exists at all."

"Penny! Hey there!" Ruby waved happily, making her way over the her ginger-haired friend.

"Sal-u- _tations_ , friend Ruby," Penny greeted in her usual over-enunciated hello. "You have more people with you today, I see. I don't believe we've met. I am Penny Polendina," the girl waved at the various members of the Ruby Squad.

Ruby quickly made the rounds, giving Penny everyone's names and a brief explanation that the ones who 'looked like her' were distant relatives that showed up for the Festival. In truth, the redhead simply didn't want to have to explain everything all over again, even if Penny believed her. Ruby suspected the ginger-haired girl would believe anything she said.

As Yang and Nora continued their conversation about dragons off to one side, Penny began staring at Red with a curious look on her face. "She says you are a distant relation… but your biometric data indicates you are a 75% match with Friend Ruby. That should only be possible with identical twins, or at least blood relatives…"

Ku appeared behind Penny with a star-struck look on her face, saying, "Ooh… 'biometric data' …are you a robot? That's so cool!"

Both Penny and Ruby flinched. The explanations came flying out in a tumble.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the plaza…

Coco eyed the others in her group with a mixture of wariness and curiosity. It was a hard story to swallow, obviously, but she was never one to pursue the details. All she needed was the short-term. Jaune had bought it all, but she knew he was more gullible then most. It was also clear that nothing else would be explained until she gave her answer.

She took a whole minute to finish her coffee in silence. She found it hard not to grin as they fidgeted in their seats.

"Okay… I'm in." Both Rose and Carmine's shoulders slumped with relief. Now Coco _did_ grin, "…on the condition that I get Rose completely for the entire time. She sleeps in our room."

The muscular teen paled. Coco fought off the urge to laugh maniacally.

"Well that means we're all taken care of," Carmine said as she finished her now-cold mug of coffee. "That just leaves the matter of Ku."

This time Jaune spoke, "Yeah, what is her deal anyway? She seems harmless enough…"

The group gazed over to the other side, watching the younger members of their party as they spoke in excited tones about this and that. Ku was right there with them, just as excited. It was like watching a little child that's gotten too big to deal with.

Carmine started, "According to the data I've managed to collect, that one suffered a severe trauma when she was very young, say 5 or 6. She soon developed a form of multiple personality disorder, keeping all of her innocence and joy on one side while forcing all of her pain and rage onto the other. The problem was that no one caught it until the twisted side had grown far too strong."

There was a pause as the mad scientist let this information sink in. No one was smiling anymore.

Carmine continued, "I still don't know how, but her dark side was somehow connected to that hood she's wearing. When the hood is down, she's happy-go-lucky… but when the hood goes up…"

She intended to let their imagination do the work, but to her horror that turned out to be unnecessary. She just managed to catch the moment when Nora, in complete innocence, tossed Ku's hood up in a playful manner.

The change was instantaneous.

Several things happened in rapid succession: the two dozen or so civilians in the square all stopped and flinched due to the sudden, severe chill; Ku's hand shot out at an impossible speed and grabbed Nora by the neck without so much as a pause; there was a scream off to one side; Coco dropped her empty mug onto the concrete, shattering it.

Everyone heard the dull _snap_ …then saw Nora drop to the ground like a rag doll.

The face under the hood smiled.

Then the screaming began.

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: Just an FYI – I did** _ **not**_ **kill Nora. To my knowledge, people** _ **can**_ **survive getting their neck broken.** _ **Especially**_ **Nora.**

 **=^w^=**


	9. Eyewitness

…

… … …

… … … … …

Let the record show that this transcript is an accurate reproduction of the interview tapes made by Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy, with cooperation of General James Ironwood of Atlas Academy and Glynda Goodwitch, also of Beacon.

The statements made have been verified by all witnesses present. Questions asked by Ozpin will be shown in **bold** type, while answers and other statements will be normal type.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 9:** _  
_ **Eyewitness**

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **State your name for the record please. Include team name as well.**

I'm, um… Ruby Rose. Leader of team RWBY.

 **In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.**

Well, uh… we were all just hanging out I suppose. Yang was telling us about one of her games, Jaune and a few others were talking over on the side, um… just normal hanging out, I guess. Anyway, when Nora tossed Ku's hood up, that's when everything went just crazy. Ren went nuts first – I've never seen him that angry before. She did hurt Nora, but wow! The two of them fought for a bit, but he was quickly beaten. Carmine yelled some stuff, I can't remember too clearly, but soon after Ren was pulled away and Yang and Red fought Ku together. I tried to watch what was happening, but they moved so fast… Before I knew it, Uncle Qrow had stepped in, a group of teachers had come and collected Nora, and everything was just so… crazy… I'm sorry I didn't see more than that.

 **Could you explain who "Ku" is?**

Oh, yeah… she's one of the Ruby Squad. She looks like a grown-up, but she normally acts like a little kid. I was there when she first showed up, and she was really different there. Really scary. Just like today. I felt like she would …kill me… if I slipped up. I think Carmine could tell you more, I don't know that much. Sorry…

 **It's okay, Miss Rose. You mentioned Qrow?**

Yeah, Uncle Qrow showed up out of nowhere! He was so cool! Nobody actually saw him come in, but …uh… we all saw that he was drunk. Again. Carmine was worried that Ku might take his sword, but nobody can beat Uncle Qrow! He kicked serious psycho butt!

 **And how was the situation resolved?**

Oh, uh… After Red got Ku tied up somehow, Rain showed up. I was too far away to hear anything, but it looked like she leaned close to Ku and said something. Then she said something to Carmine, she stared at me for a minute, then just… vanished.

 **Vanished?**

Yep. 'Poof!' Gone.

 **I see. Thank you Miss Rose. That will be all.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **State your name for the record, please. Include team name as well.**

Jaune Arc. I'm the, uh… leader of team JNPR.

 **In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.**

Oh boy, where to begin? Uh… Well once Ku went nuts, Carmine just kind of… took over, really. She seemed to know what she was doing. The first thing she had us do was take care of Nora. Since I'm still having trouble with Aura, I let Pyrrha use hers to try and stabilize Nora until the medics could arrive. All I could do was keep the crowd from running over us all. Once Ren was calmed down enough to think again, he practically shoved Pyrrha out of the way to keep Nora alive himself. I wasn't doing a good job of crowd control, so Coco came over to help. The medical team arrived just as the last of the crowd died out, and I went back with the rest of them. Nora is on my team, you know. I didn't see anything else that happened.

 **And how is Miss Valkyrie?**

Last I checked she's stable. The doctors gave her everything they had to knock her out, but she resisted it all… she's still awake. Ren hasn't left her side ever since.

 **That's good to know. And you, Mister Arc? How are you feeling after this incident?**

In all honesty? Not good. I know I'm not good at being a leader, …hell, I'm not good at being a swordsman, either. I feel like… everything I do is destined to fail. And this only made that more clear. I wanted to stay, even though I was scared, but Carmine pretty much ordered me to go. "Your place is with your team," she said. I know she was just trying to make me feel better.

 **That'll be all, Mister Arc. And do try to cheer up. After all, the future is yours to write.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Please state your name for the record. Include team name, as well.**

I am Yang Xiao Long of team RWBY. You could say I'm the 'big gun' on the team…

 **That'll do, Miss Xiao Long. Now, in your own time and your own words, please tell us what happened this afternoon.**

Well after I spent some time enlightening my fellow gamers on some secret knowledge… just kidding… Ku decided to 'snap' …sorry that was bad. Ren tried fighting her first – and damn was he pissed! – so there really wasn't anything I could do at first. Carmine jumped in to get us all organized, but it was mostly chaos with the crowds running and screaming. She had me and Red get ready, since Ren was running down. Once it was time, we rocked! Honestly I didn't think the two of us would fight so well together. We seemed to be in sync right off the bat. Ku still held her own, though – actually, she called herself "Thorn" like that – and we didn't gain any ground. Once Qrow showed up, though, that's when things got interesting. Hoo boy. Long story short, 'Thorn' got all tied up and Rain showed up to give her a spanking she wouldn't soon forget.

 **You say "things got interesting…" Could you elaborate?**

*sigh* Okay, I'll try. Qrow was his usual drunk self, which seemed to throw Thorn off. She tried talking to him like she knew him, but he just kinda… shrugged it off. She was dangerous and a threat. That was all he needed. I honestly thought it would be more one-sided since he had his weapon, but boy was I wrong. After that it got weird, though… Red started looking around at everything… and nothing… and then he did something I still don't get, which led to Thorn getting tied up. I really tried to follow it all, but… damn.

 **Do you have anything more to add about what Red did? Any more details?**

Sorry, professor. I told you everything I could.

 **Very well. That will be all, Miss Xiao Long. Thank you for your time.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Let the record show that Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee are excused from the interviews as they were not present for the incident.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **State your name for the records, please. Include team name as well.**

I am Pyrrha Nikos from the Kingdom of Mistral. Of team JNPR.

 **In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.**

At around 3:30 this afternoon, the Ruby known as Ku became hostile and violent. She attacked Nora Valkyrie and left her for dead. Lie Ren became enraged and engaged in battle, but soon used up too much of his aura to continue. Yang Xiao Long and the Ruby known as Red… a male, by the way… took over the battle. I was assigned to guard Nora along with my team leader, Jaune Arc. I focused on keeping Nora alive with my Aura. Ren soon joined us, along with Coco Adel of team CFVY. I made sure no hostilities occurred in the immediate vicinity while we waited for the medical team. Once they arrived, I departed the scene with my team.

 **Why do you think Carmine kept you on the sidelines? Wouldn't you have been a major factor in winning the fight?**

I… don't think that would have worked. My specialty is with melee combat – mainly with my own weapon and shield – and Carmine expressly forbid their use. She claimed that if Ku even grabbed a butter knife, everyone would be dead within minutes. Besides, I was worried about Nora.

 **What can you tell us about the battle itself?**

Well, I can tell you that I've never seen Ren so angry. Normally he fights with a calm, serene state of mind. Like a dance, really. I often enjoy just watching him go through his forms for exercise or sparring. This was different. He was fully enraged. I believe he thought Nora to be …dead. Once he realized she lived, he abandoned the battle to remain near her. Yang and Red fought next, and it was quite a sight to behold. They fought like age-old partners that knew each other's moves inside and out. I would have liked to have stayed and watched, but I had to go with the medical team.

 **Thank you Miss Nikos. That will be all.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Let the record show that Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie are excused from the interviews due to Miss Valkyries injuries. She was admitted to Vale General's intensive care unit with severe spinal trauma.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **State your name for the record, please. And clarify your …position in the current circumstances.**

Uh… okay. My name is Ruby Rose, but I'm the one they all just call "Rose."

 **In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.**

I saw my life flash before my eyes, is what… *sigh* But that's not important. You're asking about Ku. Okay, so, after making a few agreements for some …uh, 'inter-team training' I think she called it… Ku just went nuts. It was Nora that did it, but it was a total accident. Apparently putting Ku's hood up makes her go a little coo-coo. Since I have exactly zero hand-to-hand combat skills, Carmine had me on crowd control the whole time. About the only useful thing I did all day was find Qrow and point him in the direction of the fight. I guess that helped…

 **You** _ **found**_ **Qrow? Where was he?**

In a bar getting drunk, where else?

 **Of course. You mentioned Ku's hood. What did you mean?**

Well Carmine tried to explain it, but even she didn't know the whole story. It had something to do with Ku having …uh, "multiple personality disorder" …or something like that. I've never been able to follow fancy talk… like that…

… **Is something wrong Miss Rose?**

Could you, um… ask Miss Glynda to stop… _staring_ at me like that?

…

…(no audio for about 30 seconds)…

…

Thank you.

 **No, thank you Miss Rose. That will be all. Let the record show that Glynda Goodwitch apologized and agreed to stop staring when asked.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **State your name for the record, please. Also clarify your position in the current circumstances.**

...S-Sapphire Schn-… Um…

 **It's alright, Miss Sapphire. General Ironwood already knows your details. This is just a formality.**

Very well… *ahem* I am Sapphire Schnee, specialist of the Atlesian Army under General Black.

…(no audio for 14 seconds)…

 **My apologies, Miss Sapphire. In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened.**

At around 1530 hours, Ku became hostile and engaged in battle with Lie Ren after inflicting heavy injury to Nora Valkyrie. Soon after he was replaced by Yang Xiao Long and Red. Qrow Branwen also engaged Ku some minutes later, leading to her binding and eventual defeat. Rain came in and gave Ku some harsh words before taking her away for punishment. During this time, Nora was being tended to be the other members of her team until a medical unit could be brought in. As Carmine is my temporary field officer… of sorts… I followed her orders to stand by and provide occasional ranged support with my glyphs as needed. The battle was concluded at 1548 hours.

 **Temporary field officer? What does that mean?**

Classified.

...(no audio for 26 seconds)…

 **No further questions, Miss Sapphire. Thank you. Let the record show that I had to calm General Ironwood twice during Miss Sapphire's interview.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **State your name for the record, if you please. Also please clarify your position in the current circumstances.**

Um… current circum… stances…?

 **How are you related to Ruby Rose?**

Oh that. My name is… um… actually it's just Red. And I seem to be the only guy on the Ruby Squad. I guess… that's it. I'm the guy.

 **I see. In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.**

Crap… okay. Uh… We all talked about a lot of things today. Future plans, stuff like that. But then that Ku girl went nuts and started fighting Ren. I was… well to be honest I was ready to run away with the crowd. I was scared. But Carmine kept me there. She told me that once Ren wore down that I would be the key to getting the win. I knew what she was talking about, but I didn't know she knew about it… but I'm getting ahead of myself. Once Yang and I started fighting together, it was… magical. That's the only word I can think to describe it. Even training back home I never felt that comfortable so close to… uh, anyway… After that I used my semblance and found a way to get Ku tied up. Having Aunt…er, Uncle Qrow there was a big help. Never been so scared in my life.

 **Could you explain what your semblance is and how it helped you win?**

Oh here we go. My semblance is rather …different from Ruby's. From most of the others, actually. When I focus on something hard enough, my mind just kind of …goes into overdrive. I end up looking at literally everything around me and I can somehow calculate exactly what has to happen and how to achieve what I want to do. In this case I saw things like a loose rope, a ragged piece of canvas, a random drink with lots of ice… I have no say in what I see or use, but I know it always works. That's how I got her tied up.

 **Interesting. And Carmine knew about this?**

Somehow, yes. I don't know how, since I didn't tell her. I assume her big fancy scanners somehow found out.

 **And could you touch on these so-called "future plans?"**

Oof… I'm not supposed to say anything. Kind of a group secret. Hell, I shouldn't have mentioned them at all.

 **Very well, that will be all Mister …Red. Thank you.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Let the record show that Coco Adel is excused from these interviews.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **State your name for the record, please. Also clarify your position in the current circum-**

No.

 **Um… Miss Rain? Please don't interrupt me.**

…(No audio for 8 seconds)…

 **Miss Rain?**

What?

 **Could you tell us who you are?**

You just did, so why should I?

…(No audio for 14 seconds)…

Fine. I am called Rain. That's all.

 **Can you tell us what happened today?**

Those children ignored my warning and played around with what I told them not to. They paid for it. I came in after it was over and took Ku away. She's currently sulking in the Ruby Squad room because I forbid her to wear anything with a hood from now on.

 **Do you mean to say you could have stepped in at any time?**

Yes.

…(No audio for 9 seconds)…

 **And why didn't you?**

I didn't feel like it.

…(No audio for 7 seconds)…

Wait, what's…

…(No audio for 12 seconds)…

Something has …shifted… …?

…(No audio for 21 seconds)…

We're done here.

 **So it would seem. Thank you Miss Rain.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Let the record show that Carmine refused to answer our summons to the interview, citing "too much work to do" as her reason. She instead sent us a 5-page written report that is, for the most part, illegible and loaded down with technical jargon.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

The below signed have claimed responsibility  
for the accuracy and legibility of this document.

By the authority of the Headmaster of  
Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale,

Glynda Goodwitch  
James Ironwood, Gen.  
Professor Ozpin

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **=^w^=**


	10. A Certain Fragrance

… … …

 _The girl stopped in front of the redhead and sighed, crossing her arms in front of her. "So what will you do now?" She reminded Rose of Professor Ozpin, for some odd reason. Probably in her tone of voice, a sense of unquestionable authority._

 _She finally muttered, "…Be damned if I know."_

 _"You would just sit there and let one of them die?"_

 _"Well I can't stop_ that _," she whined, gesturing towards the frozen pair of combatants locked in an endless staring contest. "That one almost killed me just a minute ago, and she wasn't even angry yet," she pointed a finger at Coco and was only slightly surprised that the movement didn't hurt._

 _The girl gave a sigh that was part growl. There was an unmistakable tone of irritation in the noise. They stared at each other for a few minutes before the smaller one spoke again, "Come with me, and you will learn how to stop …that."_

 _Oddly enough, there was no surprise in Rose's voice. "Where to?"_

 _"Another world. A safer world. There you can learn that which you need to make this right. There you can grow as a leader and find yourself as a person."_

 _The older redhead slowly turned her gaze to her sister and partner, both frozen in time. "What about them?"_

 _"They will remain here while you're gone. When you're ready, I can return you to this exact place and time. To this exact moment."_

 _Rose grunted as she stood to her feet. At least the pain of having her spine crushed into powder was gone. "That's not a choice, you know."_

 _The smaller girl stood still, unmoving and unspeaking. Waiting._

… … …

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 10:** _ **  
**_ **A Certain Fragrance**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _6:02 AM, Wednesday Morning  
Beacon Academy Multipurpose Activity Center (BMAC), Weight Lifting Room_

 _(Early Morning of Day 2)_

…

The heavy iron weights clinked as she finished each rep, puncturing the silence with the noise. Not interrupting her thoughts, though. Rose breathed regularly, in and out, as she lifted. She thought back to the moment she first laid eyes on the girl called Rain. It was a bleak memory, not the least because Coco, her partner, was ready to kill Yang.

 _Is_ ready. It was hard to remember the whole time-travel thing sometimes.

With one last grunt of effort, Rose replaced the barbell on it's rack and sat up. Her toned muscles glittered with sweat. She quickly wiped her face off with a towel, then walked over to the window to catch her breath. In this world she really didn't _have_ to have her workout this early, but some habits were just hard to break. At least she got to admire the sunrise in peace.

Quickly taking a drink of water, Rose grabbed a clean towel and made for the showers – only to be stopped by a thick rope and possibly the worst sign she could have thought of at that moment. Out of Order. _Dammit_. With a deep sigh and a bad feeling about what was to come, Rose turned and walked out of the room. Into the hunting grounds.

It wasn't a long walk to the dorm rooms from where she was, and thank the gods there was almost no one awake at this hour, so the tall teenager made the trip alone. To her surprise, however, she found none other than Weiss in the lobby of the building. Rose didn't bother hiding her curiosity. "What brings you into the land of the living so early, princess?"

The heiress gave Rose a flat stare. "I was hoping you could tell me where I might find Sapphire. The two of us have a lot to talk about. And if you must know, I simply felt like waking up early."

Ah, so that was it. Weiss felt bad about attacking out of nowhere and was feeling guilty. Rose almost hid her smile – it was amusing to use what she knew of the Weiss from her world to figure out what this Weiss was really thinking. "If she's not asleep in our room, then I don't know where she is. Sorry."

"What about you? A bit early to be out running, don't you think?" Weiss crossed her arms automatically, as though she sensed how easily she had been read.

"First of all, I was in the weight room. Second, no it's not. I'm sweaty because the showers over there are out of order," she said the last part with a mocking tone, driving home her displeasure. "Last I checked the showers up in the room still worked, so I'm heading there now. Any _other_ questions?"

Weiss merely harrumphed as Rose strode past her. The taller version of Ruby ignored the elevator and took the stairs two at a time. In her haste, she didn't bother looking back to see if Weiss was following her – if she did, she would have noticed the slightly dazed look on the heiress' face.

…

Sapphire was not in the room after all. In fact, no one was. This was a bit odd as it was still early, but a quick glance at the time told Rose that breakfast was being served in the cafeteria right about now. If she hurried with her shower, she might just make it there in time to join them. She was literally just starting to take her top off when…

 _Knock knock._ "Rose, have you seen Weiss?" It was Blake. Rose cursed under her breath. Why did she have to show up now, of all times? Since she hated yelling through the door, Rose quickly reset her top, then went and greeted the faunus girl with her best smile, hoping her nervousness wasn't showing too obviously. Despite the awkwardness of that first day, she was starting to enjoy being around the faunus girl.

"Good morning to you, too. She was just down in the lobby. If you head there now she should… um, Blake? Are you okay?"

Within seconds of opening the door, a rather disturbing change came over the brunette. Her stance, which was slightly stiff at first, became loose, swaying – almost like she was a little drunk. Her eyes drooped a little as well. "Hmm…?" She had a clear feeling of drifting away from reality even with just that sound. As Blake stared at the redhead, her face became flushed.

Rose swallowed hard. That sense of impending danger was quite strong now. "Um… if you'll excuse me… I need to get ready for the day…" she said as she started to close the door.

Blake's hand was a blur as she slapped it against the wood, holding it open firmly. A feral grin spread over her face.

Rose tried to dart around the girl, but was quickly caught and shoved backwards into the room, landing on one of the beds with a surprised grunt. Within moments Blake was on top of her, face fully red and breathing heavily. Her eyes glimmered dangerously, pupils fully contracted. Predator's eyes. She licked her lips and leaned down slowly, mouth open…

A quick twist was enough to knock the faunus off balance, giving Rose the opening she needed. The redhead rolled off the bed and shot to her feet, panic driving her legs, as she darted out the door. Her mind raced with possible places where she could go to get away from Blake, but none seemed effective. How does one escape a hungry predator without hurting it?

She reached the lobby before she realized it, stopping to catch her breath and check for footfalls. Was she following? What in the nine hells was going on, anyway?

The feeling of two small hands touching her shoulders sent Rose jumping several feet into the air. She didn't give a yelp – her survival instinct was too strong for that – but she turned and was shocked to find Weiss still standing there… except it seemed the heiress wasn't home at the moment. She had the same drunken sway as Blake, but her ice-blue eyes were dull and glazed over. And they were locked onto her.

Rose backed away in fear only to glance at the stairwell and spot Blake, crouched low and almost out of sight, staring at her like a hungry cat that just found a big, juicy mouse. It almost looked like her butt was wiggling, but only slightly.

Slowly, carefully, Rose backed towards the main door while keeping the two of them in sight. Inch by inch she crept towards it, not moving too quickly. Her gaze darted between the crouching faunus and the leering heiress, waiting to see which would strike first. Both had a look of… well it was hard to say _what_ that look was. If she had to choose a name for it, Rose would call it a look of intense …desire.

After a minute-long half hour (or was it a half-hour long minute?), the redhead finally reached the door and gently backed out through it. Then she started to run.

…

Rose never considered herself gay. Or lesbian. Whatever the word was. She had a healthy interest in guys just like other girls, although she did, admittedly, have a different mindset while she was around them. The two years she spent apart from Yang, other than taking her classes at Signal, were spent with her father and his group of guy friends. As such, Rose ended up more like a guy than even she realized before it was over… and by then it was too late to go back.

The girls never did leave her alone, even before that. She could never figure it out. Even when she was young, Rose was constantly bothered by the other girls – always asking her to hang out with them or play dolls or some such thing. Maybe that was why she naturally pulled away after a time. Thinking back, even Yang was acting odd around her some time before she left for Beacon. Maybe that had something to do with the blonde girl's desperate attitude about leaving…

In any case, the point was that Rose _wasn't_ into girls. No, seriously. She liked looking at the ones who looked good, a habit picked up after hanging out with 'the guys' so much, but that was it. She considered it normal to appreciate the ones who put the time and effort into making themselves look their best. There was nothing wrong with that… right?

Coco made her think otherwise. Her partner back home was the first to pursue her so …aggressively. To the point of physically threatening other girls if she thought they were getting too close. Because of that, Rose now felt _fear_ around anyone who began to act like Blake and Weiss were acting right now.

The BMAC was just ahead. Rose reached the small room that had been given to Carmine as a lab, slamming the door behind her just seconds before her two stalkers reached it. Her breathing only started slowing after she heard the click of the lock. She hoped that they weren't desperate enough to break the door down. Soon there was light knocking and scratching sounds, reminding Rose of various zombie movies she'd seen before.

" _What_ is your problem… and so early in the morning?" Carmine, the mad scientist version of Ruby and main reason for the mess everyone was in, sat at a large bank of monitors and screens and yawned. The dim lights of the room fought with the bluish glow of the readouts and highlighted her dark red hair with odd combinations of color. Three empty coffee mugs sat next to the vast keyboard. "And why did you bring the undead to my door?" Her nose wrinkled, pushing her thin glasses higher on her face as she said, "…and _why_ do you smell like you just rolled around in a pile of manure?"

She ignored the third question, but to answer the first two questions, Rose gave a brief summary of the morning's events. To her confusion, Carmine wasn't surprised – rather, she looked satisfied.

"I had suspected that something like this might happen, but until now I couldn't be sure. Rose, I believe I now know what your problem is." The bespectacled redhead picked up a small rag and a plastic baggie, then came closer to Rose… but not _too_ close. Her grimace reminded Rose of the apparent stench. "If it's not too much to ask, I need a few samples for a DNA test. A little of your hair in _this_ …" she held up the baggie, "…and a sweat sample on _this_ …" and then the rag.

Rose was ready to start asking questions, but the creepy scratching and knocking made her oblige quickly. She did _not_ want to risk getting kicked out of the room with those two acting like they might eat her alive.

Carmine had her two samples into a scanning device before Rose could get any words out, quickly saying, "We can dismiss the idea of your weight lifting and general style of dress being responsible for everyone's odd behavior around you… despite the fact that it _does_ make you look quite... nice." One silver eye winked mischievously. "No, I believe your main problem is with pheromones."

All Rose could do was blink slowly at this information. "What's a pheromone?"

The mad scientist appeared to think for a few seconds, then turned and said, "Umm… A fancy word to explain how you smell." To emphasize her point, Carmine rubbed her own nose rapidly. "To us Rubys, you smell like… well, like a pile of _feces_. Rather crappy, to say the least. To most of the others, well… not so much."

A muffled voice drifted through the door, "Ro-o-o-ose… come play with us…" accompanied by odd meowing noises. There was also more scratching. The taller redhead gulped. Her smell had caused _that?_

Carmine calmly returned to her keyboard and entered a few lines of code – seconds later there was a hissing sound just outside the door, followed by two distinct thuds. The scratching had also stopped. Rose sweat-dropped.

"They'll be alright once they sleep it off. The scan should be done in an hour or so, but as for _you_ …" Carmine dug a small bottle from one of her many boxes, "Add this to your shampoo the next time you shower. It's not a permanent fix, but it should help."

Carmine's lab had a shower attached to it (rather conveniently) and she let Rose use it. Once clean, she carried the still-sleeping heiress and brunette back to their dorm (over her shoulders, drawing more than a few stares from onlookers). When all was said and done, Rose and Carmine finally made their way into town for the big meeting.

And the battle that followed.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _7:53 PM, Friday  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Third Floor – Team CFVY Dorm Room_

 _(Evening of Day 4)_

…

"I was wondering why those two didn't show up the other day…" Coco Adel took a sip of coffee as she listened to Rose's story. The redhead finished her glass of water and took a breath, trying to re-gather her thoughts. Pheromones, huh? Kinda hard to believe… but it _would_ explain an awful lot. Thinking back, most of the time Rose had the girls drooling over her was right after her workouts… when she was at her sweatiest. She cringed at the memory. She also _tried_ to avoid thinking about what would have happened if she had tried walking around her own world in the state she was in earlier… she might not have made it out alive.

The rest of team CFVY was sitting around the room engaged in some activity or another. Fox was listening to music on headphones, Velvet was fiddling with her camera, and Yatsuhashi was deep in meditation off in the corner. Rose and Coco sat together at the small table the team shared, discussing the events of the previous few days. The battle with Thorn was the main topic of pretty much every conversation around the school, though most people didn't have the hands-on experience that Rose did.

From her side of the room, Velvet muttered, "I'm glad little Cherry wasn't in the middle of that fight…" It was clear that the girl had become rather attached to the small catgirl version of Ruby. Yatsuhashi nodded from his corner. Apparently everyone was listening after all. None of them were too thrilled when they learned about what happened the other day, but they at least knew that Coco could handle herself. Given the option, all of them would have preferred taking part if it meant keeping civilians out of harms way.

The second-year leader set her cup down and gave Rose a serious look. "While I'm glad you got that all cleared up, I believe you had some _other_ things to learn before you left?" The serious mood was ruined by a smirk. "About _me_ , if I'm not mistaken?"

Rose gulped. Learning how to deal with Coco was her primary goal, but that didn't mean she was looking forward to it.

The brunette in the beret sat back and said, "If we assume that the …Coco from your world is almost the same as me… mainly that she has the same semblance… then this should be simple to explain." Rose blinked, wondering how the older girl could become used to the idea of other versions of herself so quickly. She still had trouble sleeping in a room with the other Rubys. "I'm not actually as strong as everyone thinks. I mean look at me, I'm a twig!"

Velvet muttered again, "That's not what you said in front of the mirror two days ago…"

Coco threw her empty paper cup at the faunus girl before continuing, "The reason is because my semblance allows me to alter the weight of anything I touch. My weapon is heavy enough to give most strongmen a workout, but as you know it's not a problem for me. I have no effect on the _mass_ , though…"

Rose thought back to the night her Coco snapped. She had been flung into the side of a metal container hard enough to make the steel buckle underneath her. Now she understood why. In fact, this explained a lot. However… "If that's the case, how could anyone stop you from going on a rampage?"

"My weakness…" The brunette in the beret calmly looked at Rose, weighing her with her gaze. Considering. "Should I tell you…?" she muttered quietly.

Rose blinked. Velvet's ears had perked up just slightly, and both Fox and Yatsuhashi had tensed up just a hair. Everyone was listening now.

Coco apparently noticed this, standing up in a huff and sighing, "Nah, not right now. We still have time." The other three visibly wilted. Ah, disappointment.

Rose remained sitting in her chair as the team began getting ready for bed. Her emotions drifted between hopeful and concerned, anxious and relieved. On the one hand, she was glad that this Coco wasn't as yandere as the one back home, although it was hard to tell _what_ might happen later – on the other hand, there was still a lot of things left unsaid. What was she about to say before? Was it important? Would it mean the difference between life and death once she got back home?

The well-toned girl gave her head a shake, trying to clear it. She would never get to sleep if she kept thinking like that.

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…

* * *

 **Author's Note: Another FYI – to my knowledge, we don't know what Coco's actual semblance is, so I made one up based on my own observations and various fan theories I've seen. I think it works. Also, I claim no knowledge of pheromones and how they work.** _ **That**_ **part was inspired by a manga called** _ **Yurika no Campus Life.**_ **It's a yuri manga, in case you couldn't figure that out.**

 **=^w^=**


	11. Old Habits

… … …

 _"I have helped you… now you must help me."_

 _Understanding flooded the woman. This girl, whoever she was, clearly meant for this exchange to happen. Regardless of the intent or the methods, she had truly helped Sapphire out. The Schnee woman nodded. She would repay the debt, no matter what it took._

 _Death before dishonor, after all._

 _The shorter girl stared deep into Sapphire's eyes as she said, "The journey before you is a long one, full of lives to defend, enemies to defeat, and mysteries to solve – the greatest one being your own. Are you ready?"_

 _Sapphire tensed, clutching the token under her uniform with a shaking hand. She swallowed hard and nodded._

 _The girl pulled out another device from a pouch around her waist and hit a button, forming a brilliant light in midair that seemed to break apart space itself. A glaring blue-green light flooded the woman's eyes._

 _"When you get to the other side, look for Carmine. She'll give you the next steps."_

 _"Carmine…" Sapphire looked over at the girl with a raised eyebrow, "…so what do I call you?"_

 _"Rain."_

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 **Chapter 11:** _ **  
**_ **Old Habits**

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 _4:43 PM, Friday  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor, Hallway_

 _(Evening of Day 4)_

…

Sapphire had done almost nothing for the last several days. Sure there was that excitement in the city, but other than that she had kept almost entirely to herself. It wasn't by choice, either – that little blowup she had on the first day had turned out badly for almost everyone involved, and she'd been trying to lay low ever since.

In her defense, Sapphire was only trying to enforce the rules. Glynda made it quite clear that her actions, while commendable, were completely out of line. Her tone of voice was what hurt the most, however. Sapphire did not want to hear her sister sound like that when she got home.

Her scolding _paled_ in comparison to Cardin Winchester's punishment, however. The young man had a lot of potential for combating the Grimm, but only if he could keep his head squarely on his shoulders. She had found him in a rather sorry state of having an ego that couldn't fit inside the room with him. Sapphire had felt quite vindicated in telling him off when she caught him and his team loitering in one of the gardens. So what if she had to toss him away when he got too close? So what if she'd used a glyph to throw that brick back at him? He threw it at her first, it was only fair.

After it was over, she had merely hinted to Ozpin that the boy needed to be kept under watch. How was she to know that he would dig his own grave because of that? To her knowledge, team CRDL had no future.

The tall woman stood in the hallway of the top floor of the dorms, staring out the window at the world. She was still in full uniform, a habit that no amount of other-worldly prodding could stop. Her hair was in it's usual state, most of it pulled up in a tight bun atop her head, with a generous amount hanging over the side of her face. This let her proudly display the streak of snowy white hair she had earned several years ago, the day she mastered the Schnee family semblance in front of Father. She was Sapphire Schnee, proud member of the Schnee family… no matter _what_ her mother had told her.

Mother. She fingered the token under her jacket as she thought of the woman, just as she did every time before.

Her thoughts had just started to linger on Weiss, and whether or not the two of them had more in common than simply their last names, when a new sound jarred her attention away. The clatter and clang of weapons. A sound she knew well. She was just able to make out two students on the roof just off to the side, level with her windows.

She remembered these two: Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc. Some secret training sessions, huh? Well why not? With a half smile, Sapphire walked out to join them.

…

They didn't even notice as the military woman stepped out to watch the scene. They were too invested in their combat drills. She couldn't help but smile as she watched them, ducking and weaving with a half-decent level of skill. It was also clear that Jaune had been learning his stuff from Pyrrha – much of his movements were like hers.

Sapphire also noticed how much Pyrrha was holding herself back. She noticed numerous instances where the amazon clearly spotted an opening, but then let it slide. It was almost funny to watch someone else teaching this stuff.

After several minutes, the pair stopped to catch their breath – Jaune, of course, had more to catch. Pyrrha spoke first, "You are getting much better, Jaune. It won't be long before you surpass me, I think."

Sapphire snorted a laugh before she could stop herself. Was this girl _serious?_ A good fighter she may be, but a teacher she was not.

Jaune caught the noise and nearly jumped off the edge of the roof. " _Whoa_ , uh, hey Ru- I mean, um… Sapphire? Yeah, that's right." He scratched his head in an awkward way. "Sorry, didn't see you there."

"Hello, Miss Schnee," Pyrrha was naturally polite, as usual.

It took her a moment to compose herself, but Sapphire waved a hand and said, "Oh don't mind me… by all means, keep going." _Keep making fools of yourselves, please!_

Pyrrha seemed to sense the unspoken words. Her smile faded slightly as she told Jaune, "Maybe we should… stop for now. Too much exercise can be bad for the body…"

"I can keep going if you can, Pyrrha," Jaune replied, proudly patting his chest. He _did_ seem ready to go again. Sapphire made a mental note to not take this boy too lightly in the future.

Sapphire heard herself say, "May I…?" as her hands reached out to Jaune. When did she even move closer to them?

The blonde boy quickly got the hint and handed Sapphire his sword and shield. The woman took them, gave the sword a few practice swings, then looked at the redhead. Still not sure of just what she was doing or why, her voice came out again, saying, "Shall we?"

Pyrrha at least had the good sense to look confused. Still, she raised her own spear and shield combination, taking her own ready stance. Just as Sapphire lunged forward, she had time to think _What in the nine hells am I doing?_

…

… … …

…

Jaune had seen some of the teachers at Beacon in combat. He _was_ there for the Breach, after all. He had even watched Pyrrha go full-out in a few sparring sessions. But nothing could have prepared him for the sight he was witnessing right now.

Pyrrha was being driven back with relative ease. This woman, who looked so much like a grown-up version of Ruby, and who had only been holding his sword for mere seconds before now, was using it like a _master_. Blow, counterblow, parry, blow, slash, duck – he was barely able to follow them at all.

Then, to his utter surprise, he realized what she was doing. Sapphire was fighting using the same style he was learning! She was moving the same way, swinging and blocking the same way, even her footwork was the same. Had she learned what he was trying so hard to master in just a few minutes of watching? That simply wasn't fair!

After about three hard minutes, they took a breath – if you could call it that. They barely looked winded, yet Jaune found himself panting. He'd never seen such an …intense duel. A little further, a little longer, and Pyrrha might well have fallen. Incredible.

"And _that_ …" the tall woman stated, "…was how far Jaune will go… if he only learns from you."

Both Pyrrha and Jaune blinked in shock. What was she saying…?

"However…" she started saying, only to finish by raising his weapons again… only this time in a different pose. Pyrrha readied herself again, they charged forward.

It was over in the blink of an eye. Neither Jaune nor Pyrrha saw what the Schnee woman did. Both of Pyrrha's weapons clattered to the floor at Jaunes feet after she had been bested, the tip of the sword hovering inches from the girl's throat.

Jaune's eyes were as big as saucers, glittering in the sunlight. Now _that_ was cool.

With a single, deft move, Sapphire dropped sword into collapsed shield, sheathing it. She then handed it over to Jaune, but the blonde was still rather stunned. "How did you _do_ that…?" he breathed. It was starting to become clear to him that no matter how good a student Pyrrha was, this woman was a freaking _combat instructor._

"You want to know?" Sapphire's silver eyes gleamed with mischief, glancing briefly at Pyrrha.

All he could do was nod eagerly. He didn't trust his voice at that moment.

"I usually charge for lessons like this, but for you…" her eyes swept over both of them, "I'll do it for free. Meet me in the training hall early tomorrow. I don't have much time to drill you, so be ready to learn… … … _both_ of you." And with that, the elegant woman strode to the door and left the two students with their thoughts. Jaune could have sworn she was strutting just a bit.

Pyrrha cleared her throat lightly, bringing his attention back. She rubbed a hand over her neck, seemingly unable to believe there had been a sword pointed at it just moments ago. Jaune patted her shoulder, trying to be friendly, and said, "You okay?"

"Yeah," she answered. She still sounded rattled. "Did you see what she did?"

"Nope," he replied, popping the 'p' sound like Ruby did.

"You going?"

"Yep," popping again. He just knew he was grinning like an idiot.

…

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 _8:27 PM  
City of Vale, Nguyen Pub_

…

 _What the hell am I doing, offering to train them? Seriously…_

As one of the few members of the so-called Ruby Squad who was old enough to drink, Sapphire now sat in the mostly empty pub nursing a glass of watered-down whiskey. She had come here to think, really. To get away from the other 'kids.' She wasn't a drinker, not really… but it was a handy place to escape to when she needed some time alone.

"Okay, I know I'm not _that_ drunk… so why am I seeing a combination of Ice Queen and my niece?" An all-too-familiar gruff voice spoke just to her left. None other than Qrow Branwen himself stood there, looking his usual bedraggled self, and staring at her like she had two heads. "No, wait… You were there in town the other day, right? Now I remember."

Sapphire made an effort to calm herself before standing up, then turned to face the man. "Qrow, I assume?" She extended one hand, proud of herself for not shaking, "Call me Sapphire." In truth, she had been practicing for this very moment ever since she saw him during the battle with Ku. Or was it Thorn? Whatever… First thing's first. The most important part was for her to remember that this was _not_ the same Qrow she knew from back home.

The scruffy man looked at her hand, then at her, before deciding to shake it. He seemed satisfied. The pair sat down at the bar as Qrow ordered a drink.

"So what brings you out to the _nicer_ part of town, Not-Ice-Queen?" His tone dripped with sarcasm, but no malice. Noticing her choice of drink, he added, "Trouble sleeping?"

"No, not really…" the tall woman replied before taking a prolonged sip. This was good quality. "Just needed to get away for awhile."

"Hmm…" he nodded. "A good choice for a hideout." His own drink arrived and he wasted no time in downing half of it in one go. Sapphire stared at him. "Ahh, that's the stuff."

"What about you?"

"I'm waiting for the _actual_ Ice Queen. She should be here anytime, now… assuming the delay with the tournament doesn't change her schedule too much." There was no delay with his answer. Did this Qrow always trust strangers so easily?

In truth, Sapphire had no wish to meet Winter Schnee. In the little bit she had gleaned about the woman, she knew they would rub each other the wrong way as soon as they met. Not unlike her first encounter with Weiss, now that she thought about it…

"You getting along with my niece alright?" Qrow must have known _something_ about what was going on, but he admitted to nothing.

"Ruby? We… haven't spoken much. Not yet, anyway," Sapphire shrugged. That girl was a typical kid as far as the Schnee woman was concerned… and she felt as though her patience with children had run out long ago.

"When you do…" the emphasis was clear, "…you won't regret it. She's a handful, but you can't stay mad at her." His face broke out into a stupid grin, obviously thinking of previous encounters that should have gotten him mad. Hmm.

The two of them sat in silence for several minutes after. Both finished their drinks without another word. When Qrow stood, Sapphire was quick to offer to pay for both drinks.

"Oh no… you don't wanna do that, Red… See, I've got this little… tab here. If you try to pay for mine, you'll have to cover all of it… heh heh… But don't worry about me, I manage." As the man walked out, swaying only slightly as he walked, Sapphire could only stare. That was, almost word-for-word, the same thing he had said back home after their first drink together. They had been celebrating her graduation. Damn, that felt like another lifetime.

She settled for grunting to her feet, slipping a few lien to the barkeep and heading out into the night. "You're not that old…" she muttered to herself. Still, it was good to talk to the man again. It had been too long. She made a mental note to check on the old man when she got home. Probably drinking like a fish, even there.

Sapphire chuckled lightly as she walked to the airship docks. Some things never changed.

…

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 _? PM_

 _Sometime in the evening, Team RWBY Dorm Room_

…

The two girls sat on their respective beds, not saying a word to each other. They were studiously examining the floor. Both Blake and Weiss had woken up at the same time, and both clearly remembered what had happened… and how they had felt at the time. Because of this, both of their faces were a deep shade of red.

Weiss tried to break the silence first. "So, about what happened…"

"We do not speak of it. Ever." Blake's sharp response ended the conversation. The heiress only nodded.

Blake would remember the look on Rose's face as the muscular girl was pushed back onto the bed, a glimmer of fear in her silver eyes. She would remember… and she would like it. Weiss would remember how the girl's chiseled shoulders felt beneath her hands in that one instant. Both had wanted more, much more, and were ready to take it. Thankfully, whatever effect Rose had on them seemed to be wearing off.

"You hungry?" Weiss offered.

"I'm pretty sure we missed dinner," Blake responded, looking out into the dark sky past the window. Neither of them wanted to ask where everyone else was. Neither of them even wanted to know how long they'd been out. Or what they had missed. All each of them wanted was a cold shower.

… … … … …

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…

 **=^w^=**


	12. Trust and Punching

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 _Red couldn't stop himself from mumbling, "…Who are you?"_

 _"The question is: who are you? Warrior or pretender? Hero or coward?"_

 _The boy started to answer back, but found the words catching in his throat. She had hit so close to home that it almost physically hurt._

 _She continued, "You lack the courage to do what is necessary. To overcome your obstacles. To face your greatest fear. Without that courage, the four of you will not survive the coming battle."_

 _Red glanced to the side, regarding the oncoming wall, "…From here, it doesn't look like there'll_ be _another battle."_

 _When he looked back, the mystery girl was staring at Weiss and mumbled, "Oh there will be… he'll see to that." She turned back to Red and added, "but if you don't improve yourself, it won't matter. The Breach will claim you all."_

 _A chill swept over him at those words. This breach thing sounded bad…_

 _There were a million questions to ask, but he knew that this was not the place to ask them. He tried using his semblance to find a way around the problem… but the girl's words were the only truth he could see. And since she didn't scare him nearly enough, using his Battle Mode to sort things out was not an option._

 _Steeling himself and looking her dead in the eyes, he simply said, "What must I do?"_

 _A moment later and the girl had a device in her hand (probably a different one). She hit a few buttons and… Red could only describe it as space itself being torn apart… a doorway of light appeared. It glowed fiercely with a blue-green tinge._

 _She looked at him again and said, "Carmine will be waiting for you on the other side. Your path, and your destiny, lay beyond."_

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 **Chapter 12:** _  
_ **Trust... and Punching**

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 _9:02 AM, Friday  
City of Vale, Central Square Shopping Plaza_

 _(Morning of Day 4)_

…

The normal hustle and bustle of the city was in full swing, even just a couple of days after the battle. Red wasn't too surprised by that. People had a habit of getting over traumatic events rather quickly. He had heard it said that the only real human superpower is 'forgetting' …but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it from, ironically. Ku had been effectively grounded after it was all over, but he wouldn't have been shocked to find her walking down the busy street this morning and getting no reaction at all.

Red, the male version of this world's Ruby Rose, sat next to Lie Ren, the quiet member of team JNPR and his most consistent companion these last few days. The taller boy had dark circles under his eyes, a clear indication that he'd been wearing himself out taking care of Nora. And to be honest, if Red had a childhood friend who was that close, he would have done the same. Ren had been voluntarily supplying Nora with his aura to speed her healing along – as a result, the ginger girl was scheduled for release tomorrow afternoon. Ren smiled calmly as he sipped his green tea, obviously glad the hospital stuff was almost over.

"It's been rather quiet without her… hasn't it?" Red was careful in how he worded any question relating to Nora. After Ren's blowup during the battle, everyone was on eggshells around him regarding Nora Valkyrie.

The taller boy simply nodded, taking another sip of tea. He hadn't taken much time to relax. "It'll be good to have her back."

"How do you keep up with her, anyway? What's your secret?" The two of them had held these types of conversations a few other times, and Red was always keen to learn more. But again… caution.

Ren appeared to think, gazing into the middle distance, then replied, "There is no secret. She is what she is, and I am what I am."

The redhead boy sighed, taking a drink from his own ice tea. He'd been getting answers like that this whole time.

"It's a matter of trust."

Red glanced at the brunette, surprised. This was one of the first clear answers he'd gotten so far. "What do you mean?"

"Nora and I grew up together after I… lost my parents. I'll tell you about it someday…" The pained look on his face told Red that it was a story he'd rather not tell at all. "Spending that much time around each other in a world… like this… just forced us to develop a bond. I trust her with my life, and I know she feels the same about me."

Red considered that for a moment. Was there anyone in his life, apart from his brother, that he could trust like that?

"When Nora… when she fell… I couldn't bear the thought that I had failed her. I had failed, and she could be dead… I just…" Ren squeezed his eyes shut, forcing his hand into a fist. Anger and frustration dripped from his words.

"I'm sorry, Ren. I didn't mean to bring those memories back."

The taller boy relaxed quickly, looking into Red's eyes as he said, "No, I needed to. I feel… that it needed to be said."

They sat in silence after that, no other questions passing between them. Red processed what he had learned, hoping there was some way he could use the information to make his situation a little less bleak. Nothing came.

He glanced up and examined the tall building a few blocks away. It was the hospital Nora was staying at. He had wanted to visit her, but Ren made it clear to both him and the other Rubys that there would be no visits. By anyone. They were free to talk to her once she was out, but no sooner.

Red stood and threw away his empty cup, then said, "Well… I guess I'll see you both tomorrow. Take care of yourself."

Ren only nodded. Both raised a hand in a brief wave, and Red began walking.

…

"Sal-u- _tations_ , friend Red!" A cheery voice came up next to him. Penny looked as good as new, despite how banged up she had gotten during the battle. "Is Ruby with you? I haven't seen her for a few days."

Red had actually managed to walk all the way to the airship dock before being caught by the happy girl. He cursed his luck (under his breath, of course) and replied, "No she's not. Did you need her for something?"

Penny shook her head with great enthusiasm. Red chuckled a little – she reminded him of a small child who desperately wanted to look older than she was. "Oh no, no, no… I simply wanted to tell her some good news. Maybe you could deliver a message for me?" The girl was actually getting out a piece of paper and a pencil!

"Can't you just send her a text?"

Red could practically see the dots forming over her head as Penny froze in place, processing his words. He sweat dropped. "I… hadn't thought of that…" She pulled out her scroll and began furiously typing out her message, all while trying to hide her ever-reddening face. Red smiled – she _was_ kinda cute.

Wait… did he really just think a _girl_ was cute? He blinked as he pressed a hand to his forehead, checking his temperature.

"There, all done!" She whipped the device back into her pocket in a flash. "Well, I should be going now…"

"What was your message, anyway?"

Penny grinned with that same _I'm-a-big-girl-praise-me_ attitude. "The general has appointed ME to be the head of cyber-security for the remainder of the Vytal Festival! I just wanted to tell her the good news!"

Red's eyebrows shot up in a look of pleasant surprise. "Well good for you! I'm sure you'll do fine." And he meant it. Red was no stranger to finding himself in a position of responsibility… especially when you didn't ask for it. He had no idea what being the head of any kind of security meant, but she seemed thrilled to have it. There was never any reason to doubt such a genuine feeling of joy. It was certainly more than he had dealt with back home.

"Oh thank you friend Red!" And with that, Penny rushed forward and gave the boy a hug.

The next few seconds seemed to last an eternity.

He thought of Ren and his words on trust. Penny couldn't know him well enough to trust him, yet she was hugging him? Why? Did she like him? Did he like her? Well yeah, like a kid sister… not, like, like… but he did find that he trusted her. She held her own during the battle the other day. Speaking of which, she moved rather stiffly. Almost like a robot or something. But that was nonsense, robots didn't feel happy. Or joy. Or anything. Robots just did what they were programmed to do… either that or they enslave humanity. That wasn't Penny. He trusted her. And she apparently trusted him or she wouldn't be hugging him like this…

All at once, Penny let go. Red's mind returned to normal speed. He had to stop himself from panting from the effort.

They simply waved and turned to go. Red boarded the transport back to Beacon while Penny returned to town, doubtless off on another adventure.

…

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… … … … …

 _One hour later…_

…

A loud animal noise caught Penny's attention. It was a cat – a two year old, black-and-white shorthair, to be exact. It was looking straight at her and meowing. The girl grinned and started following. She liked cats, but most of the time they ran away from her. She still didn't know why.

The cat turned and began walking down the nearby alleyway, checking to see if she was still following. Penny was curious, so she kept walking. Odd behavior for a feline.

The cat darted around a corner. Penny was right behind it.

Suddenly there was no cat. Penny's sensors couldn't even find any stray hairs.

Disappointed, the ginger-haired girl made a point to have her sensors checked when she got home. It wasn't like her to lose any target so… easily. As she turned to head back to the main part of town, she passed within inches of an unseen body just off to one side. She didn't even pause, though. Penny's head was off on another tangent.

Pale green hair and glittering red eyes faded into existence once the ginger girl was out of sight. Emerald smiled grimly, then pulled out her scroll and shot Cinder a text.

 _The test was a success. She never saw a thing._

Moments after it was sent, a reply came in.

 _Good work. Meet back at the warehouse, we have some new intel._

Emerald deftly pocketed her device, then walked out of the alley with no measure of haste. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

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 _11:32 AM, Sunday  
Beacon Academy Multipurpose Activity Center (BMAC), Training Field #2_

 _(Morning of Day 6)_

…

The BMAC was easily one of the largest facilities on campus. Considering the fact that the school was training warriors, it was little wonder why. The center consisted of two parts: a massive three-floor building that housed multiple machine shops for weapon maintenance, simulation chambers, basic classrooms for private tutoring, laboratories, and various other rooms – and four massive sparring fields, each equipped with aura sensors and a basic scoring system. Each field also had spectator seating.

Field #2 had become rather popular this weekend. It wasn't every day you got to see a professional combat teacher from Atlas going full speed.

Red sat near both Ren and Nora, while the rest of the Ruby Squad and team RWBY, with the exception of Cherry, sat on the other side. All were watching the three combatants on the field. According to the aura readout, both Jaune and Pyrrha were almost out of strength while Sapphire had lost almost nothing. It had been a rough battle, but only because the specialist was trying to teach them something… otherwise it would have been over a long time ago.

And what a battle it had been! Sapphire's wide-bladed sword moved like a blur as she struck the student's weapons and shields without mercy. The two of them had tried working together in an awkward team attack, but it was picked apart with ease. Thinking back to the day Sapphire had appeared before them, Red soon realized how much the woman had been holding back – if she had been serious back then, Weiss would be _dead_ right now.

"So be honest… you think we could take her?" Yang's voice interrupted his thoughts, a gleam in her eyes. When the hell did she get so close?

The idea of fighting against… that… made the boy grow rather pale. "S-s-sounds lovely, b-but I think I'll p-p-pass…"

"Oh don't be so modest… You and me, we could totally kick her butt." She threw her arm over his shoulders and grinned a trademark Yang grin – eerily similar to the Yang from back home – but the Yang from back home didn't have the same _things_ this Yang had… hanging off of her chest… and swaying so hypnotically…

Blake leaned over, pointed to Yang's face, and quietly said, "Her eyes are up here…"

All Red could do was make a snorting sound and turn away, face beet red. All Yang could do was laugh hysterically. Everyone else just stared. The boy quickly checked his nose and was relieved to see it wasn't bleeding.

It was only then that they all noticed that the fight had ended a few minutes ago. Sapphire had given the two students a few instructions (that no one in the stands could hear) and sent them off. The field was open.

Sensing an opportunity, Yang grabbed Red's hand and jumped down from the bleachers. The boy yelped as he was flung through the air. He was standing across from Yang before he even knew what had happened. _This can't be good…_

As Yang's weapon locker landed nearby, various cheers could be heard from the stands. They geared up (Red had kept his Amber Celica in Yang's locker with her own Ember Celica, which was the name he much preferred) and took their stances. The scoring system took a minute to reset to their aura levels, then started a timer.

A buzzer sounded, and Yang leapt forward, fist outstretched… and then time slowed down.

Normally Red's semblance was used to analyze his surroundings to the fullest extent and use anything and everything possible to end the fight. Not this time. Silver eyes danced across a muscled frame and blazing blonde hair, scanning her movements, watching her eyes light up with battle fever. Avoiding her chest; Some things were not worth dying for. Within milliseconds he had gained a full understanding of how Yang moved and fought, and she hadn't even thrown her first punch yet.

When she finally reached him, time had resumed it's normal movement… and her fist was easily deflected as Red sent his own towards her face. She blocked as well, more out of surprise and instinct than training, then sent several more blows his way. The boy dodged the first two, then blocked the rest, throwing two more – one at her face, the other at her midsection. She dodged the first, but took the second full force. She quickly backed away, drawing a sharp breath. Yang's aura had taken most of the damage, but it was still a shock.

Red clearly saw several emotions fly across Yang's face – shock at how much she'd underestimated him, joy at fighting someone she could go full-out on, and determination to win. All of this within the first minute.

… … …

 _"There's a little secret we martial artists all know," Tai started saying. Red was still rubbing his shoulder from where he had landed on it after being flung through the air by his mother during one of their more… harsh lessons. "When warriors of the fist meet in combat, we bear our emotions, our souls, all in our fists." She shoved one of hers under his nose to make sure he saw it. "There is no hiding our pain, no masking our fear. And no lying to ourselves. Our opponent knows how we feel, and we know them. A fist fight is the most honest, open thing any man, any human can have."_

 _"All I felt from you… was pain…" he managed to growl between gasping breaths._

 _"No, boy… that's what_ you _feel. Shall I tell you what I feel from you?"_

 _Red's breathing had slowed, but he dared not speak. He knew what was coming._

 _"Fear, boy. You reek of it. Fear of me, though I don't know why. I also felt… frustration… and a bit of pain from your right foot. You stubbed your toe on the bedframe again last night, didn't you?"_

 _Red merely blinked. She read all of that by beating him up?_

 _By the time he'd regained his feet, Tai was back in a ready stance. "Again!"_

… … …

As he remembered that day, he noticed that Yang's face changed again. He saw a look of …confusion? What could she have been seeing on his face?

Red stepped back and lightly slapped himself in the face, then shook his head. He had to stay focused. Here was a 'warrior of the fist' and they were locked in that sacred form of combat… good _gods_ he was sounding like mom.

The redheaded boy slammed his armored fists together, fully psyched up. Yang grinned, mirrored the action, and the two brawlers charged forwards…

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **=^w^=**


	13. Black

… … …

 _The readouts stared back at her, daring her to deny the facts they presented. And she wanted to deny it – things like this were beyond the ability of humans to comprehend fully. But Ruby was no 'mere' human. She had gathered the data herself, so there was no mistaking the accuracy of the information._

 _The clear, glass-like dust crystals gave off a steady, musical hum from their mounts. At times she thought she saw miniature stars glittering within them. Was it any wonder she referred to them as Resonators?_

 _After many years of research, development, testing, failing, cussing, more testing, and begging for more funds to keep testing with… Ruby was finally ready to try her machine. She was ready to make history._

 _She would become the first woman to travel between dimensions. History in the making. This would also prove her multiverse theory beyond any doubt._

 _Ruby hit a few buttons and started the process. The device made an obnoxiously loud sound, and Ruby made a point to work that out with the next iteration of the machinery. The transfer field erupted in a blaze of light. It had an odd blue-green tinge to it, and she made another mental note to examine this light. Did it have anything to do with her machine, or was it a naturally occurring thing?_

 _Oh well. Now was not the time to ruminate over such details. On to history!_

 _Ruby walked through the opening carefully, unsure of the wonders waiting beyond the portal. What sort of fantastic world was just sitting there, past the edge of reason?_

 _She would soon learn. Moments after walking through, Ruby met the girl called Rain. Shortly after that, she would take the nickname Carmine._

… … …

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 13:** _ **  
**_ **Black**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _8:13 AM, Saturday  
BMAC, Carmine's Lab_

 _(Morning of Day 5)_

…

The _clickity-clack_ of fingers across the keyboard was the only sound in the room as Rose waited on the resident mad scientist to speak. Carmine could have done this all day, though. In fact, she _did_ go all day once… but paid for it the next morning with sore joints. The fun times of writing out long medical reports for hours on end. Ah those were the good ol' days…

"I've got the results of your scan back, and I was right. You have a _massive_ hormone imbalance resulting in the most concentrated naturally-occurring pheromone levels I've ever seen." She turned to regard the muscular teen, staring at her over the top of her glasses. "These are really something."

While Carmine was rightfully dubbed the 'mad scientist' by the other members of the group, she really was, in truth, a doctor. In fact, she had been offering her services to the Academy as a temporary nurse in the clinic. She'd helped patch up numerous huntsman-in-training by this point. And through it all, the grown version of Ruby still found time to work on her personal research projects. So much to do, and all that…

Rose glanced at the readout on the massive screen (with a blank look), then said, "So what does that mean for me?"

"It means I can fix it." Carmine simply stood and fetched a large, beige-colored plastic bottle and handed it to the tall teen. The bottle bore a simple smiley-face on the label. "This is your medicine. A shampoo-body wash combination. Use this at least three times a week or things will go back to the way they are now. I've also included the formula for the medicine in a file I sent to your scroll - that way you can have more made when you get home."

Silver eyes grew brighter. "You mean… I'll be… _normal?"_

"Oof…" spectacled eyes winced, "I hesitate to use words like that, but yes. 'Normal.' In simple terms, this should drastically reduce the output of your… shall we say… love perfume?"

Rose snorted, unamused at the joke. Still, she held that bottle much like it was her firstborn. "I'm gonna go use this right now. Thank you, thank you, _thank you…!"_ The last words were cut off as the door shut behind her. Carmine could have sworn the girl's eyes were sparkling.

She sighed, returning to her console. There was a lot more she could have said regarding her findings – such as the fact that Rose likely got that imbalance from her father, or the fact that different people would have different levels of reactions – but it was too late for that now. Back to her report.

…

Truth was, Carmine had more work to do than anyone else could have imagined… but resigned herself to the fact that she'd never be able to finish it all, even if she lived for a hundred years. The most obvious jobs involved her current situation: learning exactly what her Resonators back home were detecting, running full scans on all 9,900 known timelines (of which she was only 57% done), scanning for even more beyond that, and making sure none of the numbers got too screwy. On top of that, since she considered herself one of the only 'grown-ups' of this little group, Carmine felt a generous sense of responsibility to make sure these kids all made it back home in time to prevent the end of their worlds.

And let's not even mention what she will have to deal with once she gets home to her own world. So, yeah… no pressure.

… … …

 _She had the lights low and all the windows blocked, just as Rain wanted. Ku sat in the center of the room, sleeping peacefully… or at least, as peacefully as someone can sleep while tied to a chair. Rain was going to have a talk with Ku's other half, the creature called Thorn._

 _Carmine had installed various sensors and detectors around the room to monitor Ku's brain activity, but she was asked not to include any cameras or audio recording devices. Rain wanted their conversation to be private. Carmine didn't want to be in the room when Thorn returned anyway, but her curiosity was strong. She hid one microphone close to Ku's chair, hoping Rain didn't know about it._

 _Once everything had been set up, all Carmine had to do was switch everything 'on' and monitor things from her main room. Simple. Of course, she had a pair of headphones ready to listen. The conversation had already been going on for a few minutes by the time she put them on. She heard nothing at first._

 _Soon there was the sound of eerie singing, in a rough voice that carried a tune strangely well._

 _"Close your eyes now, time for dreams…  
Death is never what it seems…  
Take the things you thought you should…  
All the things they said were…  
Good…"_

 _Needless to say, Carmine cut the feed off quick. Her stomach lurched once, a warning. It took several minutes for her goosebumps to settle down._

 _What the hell was wrong with that child?_

… … …

Carmine shook her head briskly, trying to shake loose the memory of that creepy song. It was a nice day today, though a bit cloudy, as she made her way to the headmaster's office. She knew the way perfectly well, but often enjoyed taking the scenic route anyway. The old man could wait a few extra minutes.

As she walked, the mad scientist was treated to an unexpected sight: Weiss and Sapphire having a peaceful conversation in a nearby breezeway. They cut off as she approached, so she didn't hear what they were taking about, but the simple fact that they were talking at all was a major step forward – especially considering how they started off when the taller of the two first appeared.

"Well good morning you guys," Carmine greeted them. "I see you've… made up."

Ice-blue eyes glanced at Sapphire, then Weiss answered, "Yes, well… it was high time we put aside our differences. I needed to apologize, and she needed someone to talk to…"

"What about you?" Sapphire cut in. "What brings you out of your cave?"

 _So I'm a cave troll now, am I?_ Carmine had to fight the urge to check and see if her hair was messy. "As a matter of fact, I'm off to see the wizard!" This earned a flat look from both Schnees.

Sigh… kids these days. No sense of humor.

The rest of the walk was less eventful, but the young doctor did manage to spot most of the other members of the Ruby Squad along the way. Cherry was hanging around Velvet Scarlatina (again, though that wasn't a problem), and Yang and Red were having a spirited conversation down one hallway. Considering the fact that Ku was currently 'grounded,' that accounted for most everybody. Well, except…

"Took you long enough. Everyone's waiting," Rose grunted as Carmine stepped off the elevator. Just past her was Coco Adel, Glynda Goodwitch, General Ironwood, and of course Ozpin himself. A meeting of the bigwigs, and they all seemed to be waiting on her for some mysterious reason.

In spite of herself, Carmine felt a goofy half-grin slip onto her face. She suddenly felt like a child being sent to the principal's office.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _3:58 PM, Sunday  
About Twelve Miles South of Mountain Glenn_

 _(Afternoon of Day 6)_

…

Team CFVY really didn't need her to come along, even more so because they had Rose with them. The muscular teen was more than capable of keeping up with the second-years all by herself. But Ozpin wanted her to accompany them to gather data on some sort of… 'new' Grimm. Carmine suspected the old man simply wanted her to go outside and play for a bit.

And then they actually _found_ the damn thing – a large creature with the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a humanoid. It was similar in shape to the Nuckelavee (which she had personally documented back home), but it was actually closer to the mythical centaur… and so Carmine named it. She remained in the circling bulkhead transport, taking data and photos from a safe height, all while the five huntsman-in-training were trying their best to kill it. Carmine noticed that Rose had taken a sort of guard position near Velvet, though there didn't seem to be much reason for it. Still, it wasn't a bad thing.

The Centaur Grimm had quite the tough hide, giving Coco's minigun a workout. In fact, it almost looked like it had some sort of electromagnetic shield… hard to tell from up here. It also moved quite fast, making for a harder target than it already was. It's hide was tough enough to block most of the damage from the two boy's blades as well. She watched on, wondering absently how she would fare against it, given the chance…

She sighed. _This_ one was theirs to kill. Goodwitch had given that order rather explicitly.

The pilot of her transport was doing an admirable job keeping the ship low and close as the fight drifted into a clearing just past the thickest part of the woods here. After what seemed like an hour-long battle, it was a combination attack from Yatsuhashi and Rose that finally parted the Centaur's head from it's shoulders. It seemed longer because Carmine already had all the data she needed, and she was just waiting for them to finish up.

"Good work down there, guys," she buzzed them on her earpiece. They each responded back in turn.

And then everything started happening at once.

The transport lurched hard, throwing Carmine off balance. She just caught sight of a black shape darting past the open door of the bulkhead. A Nevermore. This pilot was going to get a hefty bonus after they got back.

There was also distant roaring. Once she got back to her feet, Carmine leaned out and spotted a very large mass of black shapes with blazing red eyes heading for the teens. Almost all Beowulf. There were also a large number of other Nevermores above them, flying in the same direction. She swallowed hard – that was one _large_ nest of pissed-off Grimm. "Uh, guys? You've got incoming." She didn't have to speak loudly for the receiver to pick her voice up, but she started talking louder anyway. "That is one seriously big gang of Grimm coming for you!"

"Do we have time to clear out?" That was Rose, sounding a bit panicked.

"They're coming too fast," Fox said next.

"I'm almost out of ammo…" Coco this time.

Carmine could feel her eyes sparkling. Hot _damn_ , here was her chance! "Then your mission is over. Just sit tight guys… It's MY turn to help!" She ignored the confused replies as she stood up in the still-open doorway. She licked two of her fingers a bit, stretched out her right hand, and gave a loud snap.

Fox spoke up seconds later on the radio. "What the… what the heck is that buzzing noise?"

The mad scientist looked in the general direction of Beacon and grinned when she saw what she was looking for. A cloudy black mass, flowing like liquid, cutting through the air with the speed of a bullet. It was time, baby. She would have laughed manically if there had been more than a few seconds to spare.

Instead, she jumped. With no parachute. Carmine couldn't hear the group's concerned cries over the sudden rush of wind past her ears. She held out her hand and waited.

The black mass rapidly reached her, gathering into her open palm and sending out tendrils to catch her fall. She gripped it, holding on as her descent was quickly slowed. The black mass caught in the branches of nearby trees, struck into the ground, and wrapped around Carmine's arm as it brought her safely down to ground level. The five teens stared in stunned silence.

With a flick of her wrist, Carmine gathered the black mass into her outstretched hand. It flowed like sentient water, yet quickly took on a solid shape… a shape Rose knew well… a shape any of the Ruby's would know well…

It became a massive, all-black scythe weapon.

Bigger than Crescent Rose, and meaner-looking as well. A small bit of the blackness formed a C-shape on the side of Carmine's face, just to the side of her right eye.

No one spoke for a few seconds, but Rose broke the silence first. "What in the hell is _that?!"_

The urge to laugh like a lunatic was getting hard to suppress as Carmine looked over the stunned faces before her. "Allow me to introduce you to… Omega Rose." The massive black weapon sent a ripple along it's length, reminding them that it only appeared solid. "Mwa ha ha," she added.

They simply blinked. She didn't blame them.

"And now if you'll excuse me… I have some Grimm to kill." She twirled Omega Rose around, setting her feet into position. She could feel her face twisting into a feral grin.

This was gonna be _fun_.

The first few Beowulf to break through never saw her coming – she shot herself forward, twisting as she flew. Three down in the blink of an eye. Several more spins took out another four almost as quickly. She didn't even try to figure out where to go next, or which way to turn. Such movements were so ingrained into her muscles that she could fully tune out of the fight and be done before she even knew it…

But she _wanted_ to be there. She needed this.

… _And_ she wanted to show off a bit.

After sending another half-dozen to oblivion, the rest realized that charging this strange woman in the lab coat was bad and started to back off. None of them tried to go around her and get to the others, though. Carmine twitched her hand and Omega obeyed – it shifted into a liquid mass again, quickly forming into a copy of Coco's minigun. Just before she started firing, Carmine heard the beginnings of a protest from the brunette ( _what_ _the_ …) which was quickly drowned out as she began mowing down the enemy.

And she didn't care, either. Gods, this was fun. Fun… gun… heh, they sound the same… heh heh.

Half the number down, half to go. Carmine tossed the weapon into the air lightly, then snapped the fingers of both hands – the black liquid quickly flowed back down and took the shape of Blake's sword, Gambol Shroud. Carmine wasn't much of an expert of using other people's weapons as well as they did, but she'd studied their techniques enough to make it work. And this one was fun all by itself… sending the gun part flying around by the ribbon while it fired was a pure _blast_.

The scientist was starting to lose control, but she welcomed it. She'd never had much of a chance to just… release her built-up tension.

Only a handful left. Time for the finale. She spread her hands apart, forming a T with both arms. Omega answered it's master's order and flowed around Carmine's arms, forming a complex set of armor that closely resembled Ember Celica, except this version continued on up to her shoulders. The scientist slammed her fists together, face fully contorted into a mad sneer, and ran forward.

The others would later tell her that her tongue was hanging out while she fought.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Five minutes later, it was all over. The five teens and one adult each sat in a seat of the transport bound for Beacon.

"So did you enjoy making us all look like a bunch of rank amateurs?" Rose asked dryly.

"Oh yes, very much so… heh-heh…" Carmine was still giggling every so often. That happened every time she cut loose like that – a lingering madness, as she thought of it.

"I have to admit, though," Coco added from the other end of their seats, "that _was_ quite the show. And your little friend was rather familiar… right, Velvet?"

The rabbit faunus nodded, suspicion painted across her face as she looked over at Carmine. Yatsuhashi and Fox merely sat in silence, waiting for the transport to land, but there was no doubt they were both listening intently.

The mad scientist had no problem picking up the unspoken question. "It _is_ similar to your weapon, Velvet, and for good reason – you helped me develop it. Well, the you from back home that is…"

Velvet's face became the very picture of surprise and shock. She was aware of the existence of alternate realities now (thanks to talking with Rose and the others), but learning that another version of yourself was doing something so… incredible… was rather unexpected.

The black mass known as Omega Rose was currently residing in a duffel bag next to Carmine's feet. Every so often it would poke a tendril of itself out of the small opening, almost like it was checking on the other passengers. Rose noticed this. "So, um, …what _is_ it, anyway?"

"Nanomachines, of course." Carmine almost rolled her eyes. Really, how could she not see that?

Both Rose and Coco made an 'O' shape with their mouths. Rose _did_ roll her eyes then, not caring for Carmine's tone of voice. _Deal with it, kid. It's not gonna get any better._

Carmine opened one hand, beckoning Omega to come out. It complied, flowing out and running itself over and around her hand without a single noise. She lightly caressed it, letting it touch her back as she daydreamed a bit. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed every other occupant of the vehicle watching the exchange. She could kind of understand their feelings, to a point.

In short, Omega Rose was a nanomachine cluster that was specially attuned to Carmine's mental wavelengths. Simply put, it scanned her brain and formed itself into whatever shape she wanted. There were times where she would snap her fingers or nudge her hands, but most of the information came from the piece over her eye, which acted as a scanner. It took a good amount of focus to get it right, but when she did… it was a work of _art_. The scientist casually explained all of this as she let Omega play around with her open hand.

At a nudge, the non-liquid flowed back into the bag. It then zipped it's own bag shut, prompting a surprised squeak from Velvet. Carmine fought back the giggles.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _5:02 PM  
Beacon Academy Cafeteria_

…

"This is the single coolest thing I've ever seen in my life," Yang declared. Her lavender eyes danced as the black substance swirled around her. It was saying 'hello.'

Blake seemed impressed as well, but her reaction was more tempered. "It _is_ rather neat, but I'm curious… why wait until now to bring it out?" She took a slow bite of her mashed potatoes. "Would've been a big help the other day…"

Ku was on the edge of her seat, her eyes sparkling. She had a clear _I-want-to-touch-it_ look on her face. It should be noted that the childish adult was dressed in very casual clothes – nothing that had a hood. At all.

Weiss ignored the show, sitting across from Sapphire at the far end of the table. They were busy discussing something related to their family – all Carmine caught was the occasional use of the word 'Father.'

"I wasn't hiding him, not really…" Carmine adjusted her glasses as she spoke. "He was in my lab every time you all came to visit me."

" _He_ was…?" Rose was understandably curious. With a light flick of her wrist, Carmine showed them what she meant. The black mass flowed quickly to a space just behind her and took the shape of an office chair – the one from her lab.

"So let me get this straight…" Yang started to say, "…you brought the single coolest weapon of all and – literally – sat on it this whole time?"

"Yep," she replied with a pop.

Little Cherry had already said her own hello to Omega and was busy eating. She looked up at Ku, who was still staring at it, and tugged the taller girl's sleeve, saying, "Ku, eat your veggies before they get cold." She had a very motherly tone.

"But I wanna see i~i~it…" Ku whined in response. Carmine noticed the girl's hand reaching for the edge of a hood that wasn't there, likely a nervous tick, but worth noticing. "And I don't like carrots…" the adult-child pouted.

Pretty much the entire Ruby Squad had arrived in time to have dinner together, which was a nice change from normal – 'normal' in this case meant that most of the time everyone ate separately.

Red sat next to Yang, looking much better now that he had gotten more comfortable around her. Carmine knew that his fear would only get worse if he didn't make every effort to overcome it, and by the looks of things that's exactly what was happening. Rose sat across from Blake, and the scientist clearly noticed a difference in the muscular teen. Mainly the smell. That medicinal shampoo was working like a charm. Carmine couldn't help but notice that Blake kept stealing glances at Rose throughout the meal, though.

After being stuck in her room for a few days, Ku was finally allowed to roam outside. She sat next to Cherry, who was helping keep her in line. The two seemed more like sisters than any of the others thus far, and for that Carmine was grateful. Even after the incident in town earlier in the week, nearly everyone seemed to be warming up to Ku – notable exceptions included Ren and Nora, who avoided her like the plague ever since Nora came home from the hospital.

Glancing over at the two Schnees, Carmine wondered what had finally happened to bring them together. Their talking was at a low volume, so she couldn't hear much of anything but, oddly enough, she did hear the occasional bouts of laughter. She smiled at that, glad that the off-world soldier had found someone to connect with. Sapphire had been training the two from team JNPR, but according to the teacher herself, Pyrrha wasn't likely to last too much longer. Jaune, however, seemed eager to train all the way up to the day of their departure.

 _Their departure? Oh, dear… that's coming up fast, isn't it?_

"…?" Carmine noticed that Yang was slowly looking around the room with a confused look on her face, brows tightly knitted.

"You okay?"

The blonde simply scratched the back of her head, admitting, "…I feel like we're forgetting something…"

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **=^w^=**


	14. More Than Words

**Author's Note: Some strong language ahead, be warned.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _6:08 PM, Wednesday  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor – Team RWBY Dorm Room_

 _(Evening of Day 9)_

…

"Hey mom… sorry I can't be there to talk to you in person, but you know… life can get crazy sometimes."

Ruby sat alone in the room, talking out loud to a picture of her mother's grave marker on her scroll. She never liked doing it this way, but the life of a huntress-in-training meant that sometimes one couldn't just _go home_.

"And oh boy, let me tell you… things have been beyond crazy here."

She scratched the back of her head awkwardly, unsure of what to say. She actually hadn't been back to talk to her for some time, so finding the right way to say it was difficult. She plucked at the edge of her cloak nervously.

"To be honest… I feel like everyone's forgotten about me."

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 14:** _  
_ **More Than Words**

… … … … …

… … …

…

"I guess I should start from the beginning. It's been over a week now since Carmine showed up here, talking about different dimensions. I know, I couldn't believe it, either… but she looks just like me! Of course she's older and has these neat little glasses… and now I know what _I'd_ look like in glasses… but she is me. Or, another me. It's all still a bit confusing.

"Anyway, after her came another me… and yes, there was more after that… this one was closer to Yang, though. She's only a bit older, but buff. Like, _works out all the time_ kind of buff. Other than that it seemed like she had a sweat problem, but that's stopped these last few days. We call her just Rose.

"Next came a guy version of me, who we call Red… I know, that's easy to remember… and he fights just like Yang does. He even has his own gauntlet weapons, just like Yang. Just like Carmine and Rose, Red also looks just like me. I know I keep saying that, but it's true. It's all still so weird.

"After that we met the _cuuuuutest_ catgirl version of me, who we decided to call Cherry. She's still really little, so the others like to help her get around, but Mom… she's got the most adorable cat ears I've ever seen! I know you'd love to pet 'em all day long…

"Let's see, who's left…? Oh yeah, there's Sapphire… that's a version of me that grew up in Atlas and joined the military. A bit scary, but she's been getting along with Weiss pretty well. Weiss is my partner, remember? I told you about her last time. I hope Sapphire will talk to me soon… I've got lots of questions for her. *sigh*

"The last two showed up together: Ku and Rain. Strange names I know, but nothing compared to the two themselves. Ku is …odd. I'll say it nicely. She's as old as Carmine, but acts younger than Cherry. I still don't know the whole story, but she also seems to have some sort of secret in connection with this scary person that calls itself Thorn… I'll tell you all about _that_ one later, when I know more.

"And last of all we have Rain. Now, the other mes… which the guys here have dubbed the 'Ruby Squad' …all look like me, but with large differences. Age, gender, etc. Rain, though, looks like my _twin_."

Ruby took a breath, considering how to explain the mysterious look-alike. She took a swallow of water before continuing. "I don't know _anything_ about Rain, really…"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _6:10 PM  
Rooftop Balcony_

…

… … …

 _Her eyes took a moment to adjust after the fierce blue-green tinted light, but the sight that awaited her was worth the trip. Beacon Academy, not only_ not destroyed _, but bigger and grander than she ever imagined. New buildings in every corner, covered walkways, and even a tram system buzzed to and fro, taking the students to each end of the campus with great efficiency. And the people! She'd lost count of how many years it had been since she'd last seen any._

 _Whoever this older Ruby was supposed to be, this right here made it worth the time to listen to her._

 _"Would you like a drink, Ruby? Wow that sounds weird coming outta my mouth. I'm Ruby, you're Ruby…" The taller woman was buzzing around the lab they had come out in, getting the machines shut down and generally trying to clean up. She clearly didn't expect company to come back with her. "Ooh, I know… I'll pick a different name, something red. Lessee…" She scratched the back of her head, a movement far to similar to her own. "Carmine! That's a red color. Okay, so I'm Carmine, and you can stay as Ruby…"_

 _"Rain," she cut in abruptly. "Just… Rain."_

 _The woman stopped and stared, her mind clearly processing her words. "Rain… okay, so different name. That's cool. Sorry it's such a mess in here." She practically threw a stack of papers on the floor, clearing off a chair. "Take a seat and I'll get some coffee ready." And with that, the woman who called herself Carmine was out the door in a huff. Rain noticed that the door she passed through silently slid closed behind her. The Beacon she knew didn't have doors like that._

 _She sat down on the first cushion she'd had the chance to enjoy for well over a century and pondered her new situation._

… … …

Much like she was doing right now, sitting on the edge of the roof.

It seemed like only yesterday when she first set foot in Carmine's lab. After sitting on the side of a cliff looking over a dead city for a few hundred years, such a rapid development seemed very rushed. That was the one and _only_ thing Rain missed about her own world – it was calm compared to here, or anywhere else. Graveyards tended to be like that.

She blinked as she looked out over the horizon, still fresh by her standards. The moon still hanging in the sky, even broken, was a welcome sight after staring up at a black, featureless expanse for so long. It was also nice that she could see the stars again. She used to love stargazing. Mostly when she was out with… Summer.

Her chest throbbed at the memory. Good. That meant she wasn't emotionally dead yet.

Rain turned her thoughts to the others. They were all coming along quite nicely. Sapphire was passing on a large portion of her knowledge to Jaune (whether she knew it or not), Red was slowly becoming used to the female species, and Rose had begun to re-discover her own feminine side. On top of that, Cherry was beginning to grow up a little. That was important. Her world needed her.

And then there was Ku…

… … …

 _"I have a warning for you, creature."_

 _"Oh, you again. What do you want, ya cold bitch?"_

 _"You're one to talk."_

 _"That's all I can do right now, remember? Heh heh… if you wanted me tied up, you could have just asked. Kinky…"_

 _"Shut. Up."_

 _"…"_

 _"Never come out again. Do you hear me?"_

 _"…"_

 _"If you do, well… have you ever imagined what it must feel like to have your body turned inside-out?"_

 _"I've actually_ done _that to one lady…"_

 _"Show yourself again, and you will know that pain firsthand."_

 _"You won't kill me. You won't take that childish little shit away from the others."_

 _"I never said I'd_ kill _you…"_

 _"…"_

 _"I only said 'You will know that pain.' Don't you think I know what I'm capable of?"_

 _*mumble*_

 _"What was that?"_

 _"I said, if you just let me have Yang, I'll let the others live. I promise I won't kill any of the others."_

 _"…"_

 _"Ooh… is that anger I see? I'm willing to share her, you know…"_

 _"Don't. Push. Your. Luck."_

 _"I'm the luckiest little psycho in the world! Hee hee…"_

 _"Remember my words, creature."_

 _"Oh I'll remember… I'll remember them as I eat your_ fucking heart! _… … …What? Miss Rain? What am I doing here? And why am I tied up?"_

 _"Sorry, sport… I've got some bad news for you…"_

… … …

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _6:14 PM  
Team RWBY Dorm Room_

…

"…And then they all came in talking excitedly. Apparently they finally got to see Carmine's weapon. Some kind of awesome black gooey thing. I didn't get to see it, but I know I will! I will _not_ let them get away without seeing it for myself!"

The teen flopped back onto her bed, winded and a bit sore in the throat. It had been awhile since she'd last spoken with her mother, but there was just so much to say… and so much to think about. The picture on her scroll hadn't moved since she started. It simply waited in silence for her to continue.

"Yang hasn't been hanging out with me as much lately. She's been with Red the last few days. I guess I can't blame her – they've got a lot more in common than she does with me, after all. And I can understand Weiss sticking close to Sapphire… apparently she looks and acts just like Weiss' older sister, Winter. I guess they get along pretty well, but never close enough for me to hear. As far as Blake is concerned, I think she likes Rose a bit. I've seen her staring a few times, but she denies it."

She sighed, staring at the ceiling of the room. It was getting a bit lonely.

"The others all seem to have a buddy to hang out with and talk to all the time, …except for me. Little Cherry started hanging around team CFVY… specifically a rabbit faunus named Velvet, nice girl… and Carmine is busy with her own work. Like, _all the time._ Gods help me if I ever get that busy in my future… And I don't know where Rain goes. I assume, since she's working as Carmine's assistant, that she is always out doing odd jobs or something."

Finally ready to take a breath, Ruby hopped off her bunk and straightened herself out. She grabbed her scroll from the bed, giving her mother a goodbye. "It was good talking to you again. Love you, mom." She then swiped the picture away and pocketed the device.

The sun was setting, so the teen made for the rooftop balcony for a better view.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _6:21 PM  
Rooftop Balcony_

…

She knew where most everyone else was, but the fact that someone else was up here should not have surprised Ruby. It wasn't a private spot or anything. What she didn't expect was …singing?

It was a gentle, somber sounding tune, but not one Ruby was familiar with. The voice sounded even more odd, but then she peeked around the edge of the door… only to find 'herself' sitting on the edge of the roof, gently singing to the sunset. It was Rain – the ragged version of her own cloak was the only obvious sign.

As soon as Ruby registered the sight, Rain stopped singing and looked halfway around, saying, "In or out, just close the door please."

Ruby squeaked, then jumped out onto the balcony. She shut the door behind her.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Oh, uh… N-no, not really. I j-j-just wanted to… come out and get some air…" She was stuttering now? Not surprising really… out of all the look-alikes, Ruby considered Rain to be the most intimidating. Sapphire was a distant second on that list. "Sorry to bother you, I'll just go-"

"Sit."

A blur of rose petals later and Ruby found herself seated on the ledge next to her ancient twin, fidgeting slightly. She honestly hadn't expected to be holding a conversation with this particular girl so soon.

"How do you feel about this world? About your friends?"

Ruby blinked, turning to regard the other girl. Nearly identical silver eyes turned to meet hers. It was like looking in a mirror. "I don't… understand… why are you asking?"

"The same reason any other human asks a question – I want to know the answer." There was no trace of sarcasm in her voice, leaving Ruby in even greater wonder.

"Well, I… I happen to like this world…"

… … …

 _"I happen to like this world, thank you!" Summer chirped. The two of them were sitting on a hillside one evening, staring up at the shattered moon. Rain had just wondered aloud if mankind should move to the moon, if it was possible._

 _"But wouldn't it be safer there? I mean there's no Grimm there, right?" Rain was a bit confused as to her friend's harsh reaction._

 _Summer stayed in her sitting position as she answered. "Maybe… but this world is home. And besides that, if we were on the moon, then we couldn't look_ at _it, could we?" Her smile was bright enough to illuminate the darkness all by itself. "Rain…?"_

… … …

"Rain, are you okay…?"

The older girl blinked in surprise. She wasn't expecting a flashback in the middle of a conversation. Ruby looked a bit concerned, but Rain's internal clock told her it had only been a few seconds. No issue, then. "Yeah, sorry. Please, go on."

Ruby's face was alive with rapid emotions. Concern, confusion, a little fear, …so many to pick from it was almost funny. Fortunately Rain had no problem with hiding laughter – she hadn't found anything to be funny for many, many years.

"As for my friends, I like them all! Weiss is a bit cold… though that's to be expected… but she's been getting better. She's actually becoming better friends with Blake after the whole faunus incident. Blake's been opening up more lately, especially around Yang. I still find her hard to talk to, sometimes. And Yang is… uh, she's… well to be honest, I miss her a bit."

Rain lifted one eyebrow, a silent request to explain further.

"She's been with Red for the last several days. He's all she can talk about lately. I miss our 'sister time.' Everyone seems so… distant." Ruby's face fell as she admitted the problem that had been bothering her. "It's like they forgot I'm still here."

… … …

 _"The hell are you talking about? Nobody's forgotten about you!" The deep bass of Jessie's voice seemed to echo off the distant mountains, even from inside his cabin. His deep brown eyes regarded the redheaded girl with a mix of confusion and irritation._

 _"But they didn't have enough for me at the dinner tonight," she said meekly, "and Gertrud's been ignoring me specifically of late…"_

 _"Gertrud's just a stubborn harlot, everyone knows that." Jessie bent down to ruffle the girl's hair affectionately. "And the dinner thing was only because the harvest was a bit low this year. Nothing against you, personally." He grinned, the scar across his left eye bending like a crescent moon. "Don't worry yourself, Rena…"_

… … …

Rain blinked again. Twice in one night? She must have been tired. Luckily Ruby didn't notice this time. "You have nothing to worry about, Ruby Rose. Those guys are just easily distracted by shiny new things. Once the other Rubys go home, everything will go back to normal, you'll see."

The girl didn't seem convinced. "But what if it doesn't? What if Yang can only think about Red even after he leaves? What if Blake can only talk about Rose for the rest of our school life?" She was close to tears, now. "I don't know if I can handle that…"

"What makes you special, Ruby?"

She blinked in surprise. "Special? I don't…"

"You seem to think that the others are somehow better than you. Better looking, friendlier, stronger… so why should the others care about you, right?" Rain paused her sermon, looking Ruby dead in the eyes. "The answer, of course, …is nothing."

Another blink, slower. "Um…"

"You are not special, but nor is Carmine. Nor is Red. Nor Rose. None of you, none of us, are special. We are what we are… and _you_ are what _you_ are. Think about this: do any of the others have your semblance?"

Now she looked at her lap, eyes moving. She was thinking. "I don't know. Do they?"

"Nope. Every one of us has something different. The closest to yours is actually Carmine – and while she can move much faster than you, she can only move in very short bursts; only about 15-20 feet each time. Red's semblance is all about the mind: he can calculate data far faster than normal people, with interesting results. Sapphire uses the Schnee glyphs…"

"Is there a point to this?"

"I'm getting to that. All I'm saying is that we're all different in our own ways. Comparing yourself to the rest of us is pure nonsense. In fact, any time someone compares themselves to someone else, they're just _asking_ for trouble." Rain used one hand to lightly ruffle Ruby's hair, which was harder to see in the fading darkness. "Have some confidence in yourself, Ruby. You're the only _you_ here, you know." Rain swallowed a bit, unused to speaking so much in a single sitting.

Ruby sniffed, wiping her eyes with one hand. "Thanks Rain."

A shadow moved on the girl's other side. "I think you have company…"

Ruby looked, startled, but relaxed as the small shape curled up next to her on the ledge, resting her head on Ruby's lap. Her cat ears tickled Ruby's face as Cherry adjusted herself. Within minutes the catgirl was out cold, purring softly. Ruby giggled lightly, running her hand along the girl's ears gently.

" _She_ seems to be fine with you." Rain felt the beginnings of a smile approaching, but it didn't get very far.

The three redheads stayed on the edge of the roof for another hour, more than long enough to watch the first stars twinkling into view above them.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _8:00 AM, Thursday  
Team RWBY Dorm Room_

 _(Morning of Day 10)_

…

"So… you guys free Saturday?" Ruby sat on the room's desk chair, fully dressed and wide awake as she watched the rest of her team wake themselves up. Weiss, at least, had the decency to look perplexed at Ruby's state of awake-ness.

Yang stared groggily, trying to be sure this Ruby was real. "Last I checked, …yes."

"Good. Then we've got a date at the CLW Karaoke Club on Saturday night. I snagged the Grand Room, so we can bring everybody."

Lavender eyes cleared up fast at this news. "How did you snag the Grand Room? The waiting list is a mile long…"

"Everybody…" Blake started. "Does that mean the whole Ruby Squad? Like, _every_ -body?"

"That's the idea!" She could have added that she got Carmine to 'help' with that reservation, but decided against it. "We can invite team JNPR, too! Even team CFVY, if they're free."

Weiss spoke up now. "Ruby Rose, this is… the best idea you've had all year!" Ruby grinned, knowing that the heiress was a big karaoke fan, though she kept it a secret from the others. "But what brought this on?"

"Oh, you know… I just thought we should all do something special together before everyone goes home. And I know we'll all have fun if we get to sing the night away!" She knew her eyes were sparking as she said this, and that was alright. As long as the night went well, there would be no problems. They could send the others off with a smile, no major issues.

And giving them a day or two advance notice would also work to get the word out. The more who showed up, the more fun they'd have.

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **=^w^=**


	15. Calm Before the Storm

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _4:55 PM, Saturday  
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor – Team RWBY Dorm Room_

 _(Afternoon of Day 12)_

…

The only sound in the room was the crunching of dog kibble, punctuated by occasional happy grumbles from the dog eating it. Zwei was perfectly content with his current situation. Sure the humans were gone, but that just meant it was quieter. Easier to do his job.

Taking a break from his meal, the short-legged dog proudly trotted the perimeter of the dorm room, sniffing each corner and giving a brief bark once he was sure the room was secure. He then returned to his meal.

Of all the residents of the dormitory, Zwei was the least bothered by the new arrivals. As far as he was concerned, the more the merrier. As long as he got his food and a belly rub, the corgi was fine with anyone. The small newcomer smelled just like a cat, but she was still fine. Heck, he _liked_ playing around with her sometimes. The others were fine, too.

Giving out a decent belch, Zwei waddled over to his bed and tucked himself in.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 15:** _  
_ **Calm Before the Storm**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _6:04 PM  
City of Vale, CLW Karaoke Club_

…

While there were plenty of places in the city for those who enjoy singing out loud, the CLW was by far the most popular. Only a 5-minute walk from the main shopping plaza, it was three stories of pure fun. The bottom floor consisted of the smaller rooms that each held up to four, as well as a large concession stand with an eating area. The second floor held the larger rooms, each able to hold up to eight with no trouble. The top floor was the Grand Room, more than large enough for 25-30 with room to spare.

It currently held all of team RWBY, all of team JNPR, and all of team CFVY (much to everyone else's surprise). Not to mention nearly all of the Ruby Squad – the only notable absence was Rain, but that was expected. It also held a healthy (or un-healthy) supply of snacks and drinks. All four walls were lined with posters and wall hangings of various musical groups, and no less than a dozen large couches and loveseats filled the floor space.

The most prominent feature was the performance stage – it featured a large screen displaying video backgrounds for each act. A second screen faced the space from the opposite wall, onto which the lyrics were projected. This allowed the performers to face their audience while they sang. It was, in all respects, a very big and fancy space.

And it was all theirs for the night. _Hell yeah_.

The first few songs of the evening were of the more …classic-rock persuasion. Jaune and Nora eagerly belted out a couple, followed by a reluctant Fox (who deduced that if he volunteered for at least one song, then he wouldn't be bugged to sing later on – also, he made sure to pick one he already knew by heart). It worked to set the mood. Then Yang stepped up, selecting an appropriate number to sing first. The screen flashed the artist and title and Yang took off.

"What are the scores for?" Pyrrha leaned close to Ruby so the redhead could hear the question over the blonde's noise. This was the first time Pyrrha had ever been to a karaoke joint, so she'd been asking Ruby various questions. The large machine displaying the lyrics for each song was giving scores for each performance, usually around 70-75 points each time.

Ruby grinned as she explained, "They have a system in each room that ranks how close you were to the pre-set 'standard' vocals …and I don't know exactly what that means, so don't ask… and good scores earn you a prize ticket. I think you get a ticket if you earn a 90 or better."

One eyebrow went up. "What sort of prizes?"

"I'm not sure, really. I've only ever won once, and all I got was a free side of fries from the snack bar downstairs." Ruby caught the gleam in the other redhead's eye. "I hear, however, that there's a special golden prize ticket for anyone who gets a perfect 100…"

The gleam became sparkles. She had Pyrrha's attention now.

Yang was wrapping up about this time, and the machine proudly displayed a score of 78. Yang stuck her tongue out at it. "Tone-deaf hunk of junk…"

Blake almost hid her chuckle. "I have to disagree with you there." Yang gave her a scandalized glare.

Weiss was busy scanning the music database, but then stopped and muttered, "Wow… didn't expect them to have that one…"

"What? You want to try one?" Sapphire sat next to her, sipping a drink. The military woman looked a bit odd in casual wear, but everyone had agreed to dress a bit more comfortably for the occasion.

Ice-blue eyes glanced over, "This one's available for a duet. Care to join me?"

The woman looked at the song, furrowed her brow, then shrugged her shoulders. "… … …Why not?"

The pair of Schnees stood and grabbed a mic (the room had nearly a dozen to pick from), then took their places in front of the screen. Artist and song title flashed first:

[ W. Schnee – Gold ]

The room gave a start at that. "Whoa, whoa, waitaminnit… _you_ wrote this one? Weiss, I had no idea!" Yang was more than a little surprised.

The heiress simply shrugged as the upbeat, uplifting music started. "I wrote it years ago and it just took off as a single. I've never sang it in public, though." Weiss took a breath and started with the first verse.

 _[ Dream of anything  
[ I'll make it all come true  
[ Everything you need is all I have for you_

 _[ I'm forever… always by your side  
[ Whenever you need a friend  
[ I'm never far behind_

 _[ If the stars all fall  
[ When there's no more light  
[ And the moon should crumble  
[ It will be alright…_

Sapphire joined in for the chorus, their voices blending really well together. Everyone else in the room was starting to clap with the beat. A few who knew the song were singing along.

 _[ Don't you worry about the dark  
[ I will light up the night with the love in my heart  
[ I will burn like the sun I will keep you safe and warm_

 _[ Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day  
[ I will be there to take all your fears away  
[ With a touch of my hand I will turn your life to…_

 _[ Go~o~o~old…_

 _[ With a touch of my hand, I'll turn your life to gold._

They continued the song with the second verse, which Sapphire took. Weiss smiled warmly as the specialist adapted the melody perfectly. They finished with the chorus, once more joining their voices in near-perfect harmony as the room cheered on.

'Near' perfect, as the machine emphasized: they scored a 92. A small ticket emerged from beneath the selection screen. Sapphire handed it to the heiress, stating, "You picked the song so you get the prize."

"Thanks," Weiss accepted the slip of paper, then embraced Sapphire in a warm hug. "You sounded great, by the way."

The taller woman looked like she was fighting back a blush. "Well, you know how Father was with our upbringing. Music lessons don't come cheap when you demand only the best."

Weiss made a grimace, muttering "Yeah, I know." She handed her mic off to an eager Nora, dragging a less-than-eager Ren, as they made their selection.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _6:15 PM  
City of Vale, Airship Docks_

…

The young man sat on his small pile of bags and one suitcase, waiting for the 7:00 flight out of the city. He wasn't wearing his armor anymore, but he still packed it for the trip. He didn't take his weapon, though – let that stupid thing rust away in a storage room for all he cared. He wasn't going to need it anymore.

He muttered something under his breath as he took a drink from the bottle in his hand, wincing as it went down. Cardin wasn't new to the drinking game, but being underage by just over a full year made it hard to explain when an adult asked one question too many. Of course, with his height and build, most adults simply assumed he was fine.

This was all that damn animal's fault.

No… it was that _woman_. That military chick. Everything started going south after she showed up.

Oz-prick had wasted no time explaining that team CRDL would be disbanded and he, Cardin, was to be kicked out of the Academy. He was ready to defend himself, ready to use his secret weapon and get the headmaster to change his mind… but said weapon had already turned around and fired on him instead. His old man had already been notified of Cardin's recent behavior and had had enough. His exact words were: _'Get that sumbitch out of there… and tell him not to bother coming home.'_ Obviously the man had had a few drinks himself, but that didn't stop Ozpin from signing the papers anyway.

So here he was, Cardin-freaking-Winchester, former Huntsman-in-training, with a dishonorable-freaking-discharge, no freaking friends, and nowhere to freaking go.

Things couldn't get any worse.

"How's the view from the bottom?" An irritatingly familiar voice spoke from next to him.

His bloodshot eyes regarded the speaker. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn it was that damn brat from team RWBY… but she wouldn't have come all the way out here just to tease him. She wasn't that stupid. "Screw off, kid."

"You forgot something…" The figure pulled something out from behind her, revealing Cardin's weapon: The rather wicked-looking black mace he called Chancellor.

He gave it a deep frown, then turned away. "Sell it to a pawn shop, give it to some little kid to play with, I don't care… just keep it the hell away from me." He took another swig to get his mind off things a bit more. "I'm not a Huntsman anymore."

The figure sighed, and leaned it against his bags. "It belongs to _you_ Mr. Winchester, regardless of your feelings. And you will need it again… soon."

Cardin whipped his head around to glare at the figure, probably to say a few choice words as well …but she was gone. No muss, no fuss. Just gone. He stared at the empty space for a minute, then glared at the mace before downing the rest of the bottle in a few gulps.

Before he reached for another bottle (he had two more waiting in a bag), Cardin took a few seconds to put Chancellor into it's holster on his belt. He didn't give it a second thought for the rest of the night.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _7:17 PM  
CLW Karaoke Club_

…

The gang had just taken a breather to eat a few hot dogs / hamburgers / cheese fries, and Yang now found herself washing up after a trip to the ladies room on the second floor. The night had only started and the blonde already had almost a half dozen songs under her belt. Good times. She was looking forward to seeing what Red chose (they had all agreed that everyone needed to sing at least once to get their money's worth).

Sapphire came in just before the blonde made it out, causing Yang to stop. "You sounded great up there, Saph. This a side job for you or something?"

The taller woman looked at Yang for a moment, considering how to answer, then went about her business while saying, "I was trained in many forms of singing from an early age. Father insisted on it."

"Oh yeah… you and Weiss had the same dad, right?"

Another pause. "Mostly. I've determined from our talks that while the man is mostly the same for both of us, there is one key difference… For Weiss, Jacques married into the Schnee family. For me, he _was_ the Schnee family. Mother was the one who married into it."

Yang leaned against the door frame, arms crossed as she thought back to events from nearly two weeks ago. Something about what the woman said triggered a memory. As Sapphire finished her business and washed up, Yang asked the question she'd almost forgotten to ask ever since that day: "I was told that I looked like your mother. Do I really?"

The taller woman froze so completely that Yang imagined the temperature of the bathroom had dropped several degrees at once. She recovered soon after. "Yes… you do." As she dried her hands, Yang noticed that Sapphire was adjusting something under her shirt. She'd been doing that a lot lately, but Yang didn't want to ask about it. Probably just a necklace or something.

"That must have been a shock…"

"You have _no idea_. After seeing Glynda… who _is_ my younger sister, by the way… seeing you was one shock too many."

"What's she like? Your mother, I mean."

"Beautiful, kind, caring, loving… all the things I imagine when I think of how a mother should be. She told me a few stories as I grew up about how wild she used to be, but I never believed them – now I do." She gave the blonde a half-smile as they walked down the empty hallway, the distant thud of speakers just managing to be heard through the doors of the occupied rooms.

"So me and… Weiss' dad? I don't even want to think about how that happened… _bleah!"_

"They seemed happy together every time I looked, so I think it worked out for them…"

"And to think we had a kid like you… no offense, Saph."

"…"

"Saph? You okay?"

"…Oh, uh… yeah. I'm good."

As they rounded the corner of the stairwell (in a much more somber mood than a moment ago), Yang and Sapphire were treated to an unexpected sight: almost a third of the room was standing outside the door, looking annoyed. The group included Blake, Ren, Jaune, Yatsuhashi and Fox.

"What's going on, guys?" Yang asked, now properly confused.

Blake shrugged a bit, "See for yourselves."

The pair let themselves in and quickly learned what had driven their friends out of the room. Velvet and Cherry were belting out a duet of a tune from a children's movie, not caring about staying in key. Thankfully it was close to the end of the song, but Yang had no trouble figuring out which song it was.

 _[ Here I stand, in the light of da~a~y…  
[ Let the storm rage O~O~ON!_

 _[ The cold never bothered me anyway._

The pair of singers gave a theatrical bow as the rest of the room applauded mightily. The door cracked open as a voice from beyond said, "Are they done yet?"

"Yes we're done you party poopers!" Velvet pouted at the deserters. Cherry mimicked the movement. The rabbit faunus then gave a raspberry to the score on the screen, a below-average 66.

"We'll get 'em next time, Vel-vet," Cherry tried to console the taller girl, prompting a _squee_ of joy from the teen.

Suddenly Pyrrha stood and marched over to Jaune, grabbing the boy and pulling him to the stage. She practically _threw_ a mic into his hands. This caused the rest of the group to take their seats and watch, eager for the show that awaited them. It took a lot for the Mistralian girl to get this fired up.

Jaune gulped as Pyrrha chose the song, words flashing across the screen to spell out his doom.

[ A.L. Webber – The Phantom of the Opera (Nightwish Ver.) ]

As the pipe organ music began, followed closely by rock guitars, Jaune's face grew pale as he mouthed 'help me' to the room.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _7:31 PM  
Beacon Academy, CCT Tower, Headmaster's Office_

…

"Thank you for your time, General."

"And thank _you_ for your assistance. Get some rest, Ozpin."

"You as well."

The holographic image of General Ironwood blipped out of existence as Ozpin ended his video call. He leaned back into his chair, rubbing his temples lightly in hopes of fending off the oncoming headache. He'd been wrestling with this issue for weeks now, and it wasn't getting any better.

Security was fine, or so he had been assured time and time again by his peers. James was the worst – if not for the very real threat of their enemy hiding in the city, the man would have bombed them to kingdom come long ago. He took nothing else seriously. The virus? No problem. White Fang? Easily solved.

Ozpin didn't know who the man had placed as the head of the cyber security department (he didn't even know they _had_ such a department), but he hoped the girl was trustworthy. There was a lot at stake.

Just as he had done every night since meeting Carmine for the first time, Ozpin checked the system. And just as it had told him every time, it displayed the same five words at the bottom of the report: _Status of subject "Amber": Unchanged._

He sighed deeply, taking a drink from his mug. Why would this uneasy feeling not leave him?

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _7:50 PM  
CLW Karaoke Club_

…

 _[ They say we are what we are  
[ But we don't have to be  
[ I'm bad behavior but I do it in the best way  
[ I'll be the watcher… of the eternal flame…  
[ I'll be the guard dog… of all your favorite dreams…_

Coco and Rose were tearing it up, and everyone else agreed. Just watching the two of them was rather fun. The night was wrapping up and the group was making their final selections. Ruby seemed to be waiting for this opportunity.

 _[ Cause we could be immortals… immortals…  
[ Just not for long, for long  
[ And live with me forever now  
[ You pull the blackout curtains down  
[ Just not for long, for long_

 _[ We could be immo~o~or-, immo~o~ortals…_

They ended up scoring a respectable 90, earning the brown-themed girl a prize ticket. Weiss was done for the night (they assumed), and started making small talk with Sapphire as Carmine sang something about blinding someone with science. Classic rock was odd.

"You met with Winter yesterday, did you not?" Sapphire was only a little curious about the woman she so precisely and unintentionally copied. "I heard that she was in the city for a day or two…"

"Yes, we had a wonderful visit. She didn't talk much, of course, but it was nice. We discussed an… issue I've been having lately, but thanks to the things you've helped me with, the issue was finally resolved. Or at least, _mostly_ resolved."

"That issue being…?"

"Summons." Until recently, Weiss had been having a lot of trouble getting her summoning to work. Sapphire, however, had already mastered it. Much of their discussions the last few days had centered on proper techniques and methods. "Now I can summon with only a little difficulty. You should have seen her face."

"I can imagine it well enough. Congratulations." And she could, too… Father likely had much the same look when she had demonstrated the Schnee power for him all those years ago.

"Thanks." Weiss' smile reminded Sapphire of Glynda. She was rather eager to get this trip over with and get home. She missed the kid.

As the song faded (Carmine only scored a 60, by the way), Ruby stood up and intercepted the scientist's mic. She then looked at her teammates, giving them a non-verbal signal and grinning from ear to ear. It was time.

Everyone but Weiss, Blake and Yang looked a bit confused as all four members of team RWBY grabbed a mic and took their places. Ruby had a song selected and was ready to start it, but first she felt a need to explain. "So, um… we've been working on a little something for you guys…" She was looking at each member of the Ruby Squad as she spoke. "Kind of a send-off, so… enjoy!"

As the synthesizer music started up, Yang added, "This happens to be Ruby's favorite song ever since she was little."

Various rock instruments joined the synthesizer as the artist and title came on the screen.

[ Tevin Campbell – I-2-I (Eye to Eye) ]

Almost every other pair of silver eyes lit up at the familiar tune. Evidently this was a common favorite. Ruby, of course, took the lead as the whole team made a valiant attempt at a choreographed dance.

 _[ Got myself a notion  
[ And one I know that you'll understand  
[ To set the world in motion  
[ By reaching out for each other's hand_

 _[ Maybe we'll discover… what we should'a known all along  
[ One way or another… together's where we both belong_

All four made a terrific harmony for the chorus. It was clear they'd been serious about this practice.

 _[ If we listen to each other's heart  
[ We'll find we're never too far apart  
[ And maybe love is the reason why  
[ For the first time ever we're seein' it eye to eye_

No one was singing along. No one was clapping. Everyone was watching the four teens, paying full attention to both the dance and the lyrics. The song may have been old, but it seemed as though they had chosen it for a reason.

 _[ If a wall should come between us  
[ Too high to climb, too hard to break through  
[ I know that love'll lead us  
[ And find a way to bring me to you_

 _[ So don't be in a hurry… think before you count us out  
[ You don't have to worry… I won't ever let you drown_

 _[ If we listen to each other's heart  
[ We'll find we're never too far apart  
[ And maybe love is the reason why  
[ For the first time ever we're seein' it eye to eye_

To most everyone's surprise, the part-time workers of the place had come up to watch the show as well, peeking in through the door. This was one of the better performances of the night, it seemed. Team RWBY continued dancing, unfazed by the larger audience. Ruby was in her own little world.

 _[ If you're ever lonely, then stop! You don't have to be  
[ After all it's only… a beat away from you to me_

As the song reached climax, the dancing tightened up and picked up the pace. All four teens were now in total sync with each other.

 _[ If we listen to each other's heart  
[ We'll find we're never too far apart  
[ And maybe love is the reason why  
[ For the first time ever we're seein' it eye to eye_

The harmony scattered as the song reached the end, but that was part of the plan. Each of the group kept singing, but seemingly on their own. Those who had heard the original song knew exactly what was going on.

"Big finish!" Ruby cheered moments before the final eye-to-eye played out – the four girls did a final finishing move to their little dance, ending with one fist pumped into the air. The room exploded in applause.

This included the machine, playing a cheering audience for the first time all night as it displayed that magical number: 100.

Ruby very nearly passed out.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _8:00 PM  
Kingdom of Vale, Atlas Military Base, Unknown Location_

…

Penny looked at her scroll, staring unhappily at the text she was forced to send Ruby a few hours ago. She had been invited to a karaoke night with the others, but her new work schedule forced her to stay out of it. She _really_ wanted to go, too. She glumly put her device away and turned to her chamber, climbing inside.

The job of cyber security demanded that Penny fully plug into the system, sending her consciousness into a 3D world that represented almost the entire CCT. While there, the robot girl could still use her full abilities to fight off whatever came through, though she still had to be careful not to damage anything sensitive. Father had assured her that all precautions had been taken and all adjustments had been made. There was no chance she'd cause any damage, no matter how paranoid the General might sound about it.

While it was nice to be put is such an important role, the biggest drawback for the ginger-haired girl was the fact that she was no longer going to fight in the tournament. She was so looking forward to that. Almost as much as she wanted to sing with the others.

She sighed, laying back into her chamber and letting the wires and inputs install themselves. It was going to be a long night.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _8:03 PM  
City of Vale, Central Square Shopping Plaza_

…

"She could have taken the 10,000 Lien…"

"Or the brand new personal music player with wireless headphones…"

"Or even the 3-month supply of free Dust cartridges…"

"But what did my little sister take as the grand prize?"

Yang and Weiss stared at the shorter teen incredulously as they slowly made their way through the silent city. Blake remained silent, trying not to think about the show she'd just helped put on minutes ago. It was more embarrassing looking back, but she still had fun.

"Cookies."

Ruby was still staring at her prize, a laminated card with a local company's logo emblazoned on one side. The back read as follows:

 _The Cookie Haus – Gold Star Membership Card  
The bearer of this card is hereby granted one free GIANT chocolate chip cookie, every day, until the end of time.  
Lucky you :)_

Silver eyes were glazed over as she read the card again and again. She felt like she was holding a small slice of heaven. "Not just cookies, you fools… a lifetime supply…" She wiped a bit of drool from her mouth.

"In any case," Blake cut in, "I think they enjoyed themselves."

"Darn right they did. We had 'em _all_ cheering!" Yang pumped a fist in the air, her blonde hair glowing in the dim light.

Weiss added, "I don't expect they'll forget that performance anytime soon."

The team walked on in silence for another few minutes. The other teams had gone on ahead as Ruby stayed to pick out her prize from the selection available. The others didn't get to see much, but they did see some… enough to know what the redhead had passed up for the cookies. Still, that was Ruby for you.

With this whole mess behind them, team RWBY was now ready for the Vytal Festival Tournament to resume, and all that came after. They could finally get on with their lives, although they were all very much aware that life would never be quite the same after this mess. How many people could boast that they got to mingle with alternate-universe versions of themselves?

Sure there were still questions they would have liked to get answers to, but at least they had a little bit more time to ask. Carmine wasn't fully ready to send everyone home yet. Ruby still hadn't seen this 'Omega Rose' thing yet, for one…

As Ruby tucked the card into her belt pouch, her fingers brushed against another card. Curious, she pulled it out… and froze.

In her hand was the card from almost two weeks ago. _The Beast._ She suddenly had a very strong feeling about it.

Holding it over her shoulder to let the others see it, Ruby said, "Does this card remind anyone else of Cherry?"

There was no immediate noise, but Yang muttered, "No, I… … …wait… the _other_ _cards_ …"

The redhead turned around to find the other three teenagers pulling their own cards out of various pockets and pouches to look at them in the dim light of the street lamps.

Weiss held up her cards first; _The Soldier_ and _The Watcher._ "If this one is supposed to be Sapphire… then is this one Carmine?"

Blake was next, holding _The Lover_ and _The Eternal._ "Rose and Rain, obviously."

Yang finished the exchange with _The Fighter_ and _The Broken._ "Which leaves us with Red and Ku."

There was no possible way they could have been holding such obvious clues the entire time and never noticed. There was no way a simple pack of cards could have hinted at the arrival of the alternate-universe Ruby Roses. All four teens looked each other in the eyes and nodded. They all knew what they had to do: _find that store_. Ruby led the way in a flurry of rose petals.

The effort was in vain – the store was not only empty, but it appeared to have been abandoned and left to ruin for years. This just made them all the more anxious, of course.

"I think…" Ruby started, "that we should have Carmine analyze these cards tonight. If there's any chance these were planted for us…"

The other three nodded, quietly handing the cards to their leader. Ruby tucked them into her pouch, right next to the little slice of heaven… that is, the cookie card. If anybody could find something amiss about a set of cards, it was their resident mad scientist…

Ruby's thoughts were interrupted by her scroll beeping. As soon as she answered it, the thing went straight to speaker.

Rain spoke, sounding her usual emotionless self… yet her words shattered all hopes for a peaceful weekend.

 _"All of you, get back here and gear up. We've got big trouble."_

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _The curtain rises on the next act_

 _Darkness spreads as hope fades_

 _Yet the light will not surrender_

 _For victory is in a simple soul_

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: The climax approaches! I hope you enjoyed the small scene I added at the end there, since I totally forgot to add it in the initial release.**

 **=^w^=**


	16. Crisis

AND NOW A _  
_WRTA CHANNEL 7 _  
_BREAKING NEWS ALERT

… … …

"This is Lisa Lavender with the latest update on the current crisis.

"Less than an hour ago, a large force of armed soldiers entered and took control of Amity Stadium, currently docked in the city of Vale. Authorities believe these soldiers to be part of the White Fang – a group of faunus 'freedom fighters' that seek to remove the 'chains of subjugation' placed on them by all humans… … hold on, I've just been told we have a video message from the leader of the White Fang… …"

 _Adam Taurus: "People of Vale, and people of the world: We are the White Fang, and we will no longer be ignored. Consider this a formal declaration of war. We have taken your symbol of peace, your Amity Stadium, as our new base of operations. It is rather unfortunate that there were so many humans still inside, but that's the law of the jungle – the weak become food for the strong. If you wish for the safe return of the humans you see behind me, I suggest you carefully consider my demands…"_

"Okay… … …According to our reporters, the video continues with a very long list of one-sided demands that basically make the police and military give full amnesty to all faunus for any and every action they wish. In short, he wants complete anarchy.

"General James Ironwood has gone on record to state that this attack can not and _will_ not be allowed to go unpunished. He is taking immediate actions to quell the situation, but he refused to go into further detail.

"Our investigators are on the scene and working hard to bring us all the latest updates on this crisis. Stay tuned to Channel 7 News… … …"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 16:** _  
_ **Crisis**

… … … … …

… … …

…

 _Previously on Paradigm of the Rose:_

Two weeks have passed in the blink of an eye. The various alternate-universe Ruby Roses are ready for the trials that await them back in their own world. Or at least, as ready as they'll ever be. Team RWBY and friends manage to give them a send-off party in hopes that they'll never forget each other, no matter how far apart they are.

Before they have any time to rest, however, a situation arises that threatens everything they have ever fought for… but will their greater numbers be enough to overcome the threat?

 **Note: Brief strong language ahead.**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _10:30 PM, Saturday  
Several Miles South of the City of Vale_

 _(Late Evening of Day 12)_

…

Yang yawned hard, her jaw popping from the effort. She should have been in bed by now. They _all_ should have been.

Why couldn't the White Fang have attacked at 9 in the morning like sensible people?

The blonde glanced around the interior of the airship, taking in the general mood of the group as well as each of their expressions. Blake looked bored as usual, glancing at something on her scroll. Weiss appeared to be trying some kind of meditation exercises (likely due to Rain and Ku's conversation, which was getting on everyone's nerves). Ruby looked concerned, but whether it was due to their sudden call to a major mission or the issue with their strange future-predicting trading cards, Yang could not tell.

"Let's go over it again," Rain started up for the third time. "You will head into the warehouse and proceed into the middle of the main storage unit without being seen, okay?"

"Got it!" Ku chirped, smiling brightly. Why the adult-child was fully awake at this hour was beyond Yang, but at least she was cheerful as always. Yang was finding it hard to be anything _but_ happy around Ku.

She reminded Yang of the days when Ruby was still little, always a bundle of energy and happiness. And cuteness. It was a bit disconcerting to see a full-grown woman acting like a little kid sometimes, but Yang was growing rather fond of her. She had to draw the line at letting Ku sit in her lap, though. Too heavy.

"Once inside, keep an eye on the device. When you see the green light come on, you hit this button here, got it?" Rain asked again.

"Aye-aye, captain!" Ku gave a theatrical salute, then giggled. Yang couldn't help but smile.

Of course, Ku had a few reasons to be happy tonight. Before they left, Rain gave her a new cloak, but this one was all black. She said it was to help hide her in the darkness to better complete her mission. Ku still got her old cloak back, but she had to keep it in her bag until she got home.

The other reason Rain brought Ku along: She had finally completed her mysterious transfer device and was ready to send the adult-child home. To her mother. To Summer Rose.

Rain had already explained much of their mission… at least, _this_ part of it… and was simply going over Ku's instructions over and over until it was memorized. She had to. Ku was prone to distractions. The grown woman was supposed to head for the center of their target location in order to use the transport device Rain had rigged up, but the reasoning for that seemed a bit shaky to Yang. Why would Rain's device _only_ work in that spot? It bothered her, but she chose not to say anything about it.

The rest of it was simple. After Ku successfully transfers herself out of their world, team RWBY would strike and take out the facility itself. In short, they'll disable the enemy's supply line _and_ take Ku out of harm's way. Win-win.

 _If_ it all went well.

"And _please_ don't forget about the hood, sport. It's really important you keep it off, okay?"

"Oh- _kay,_ I remember. Geez…"

Blake looked up from her scroll, saying, "If it's that big a deal, why not just take the hood away? Leave her with just a cape?"

Ku's eyes grew large with fright, and Rain replied tiredly, "I tried that already, but she refused to even _move_ with a hood-less cloak. I didn't have time to convince her, so I just said screw it." Rain regarded the adult-child with narrow eyes, then added, "I'm choosing to _trust_ her instead."

Yang chuckled. Rain was starting to sound like an exhausted mother.

Ku actually looked pretty cool in a black cloak. It helped her stand out among the other Ruby look-alikes. Rain had given the others a quick talking-to regarding the creature called Thorn – mainly to let them know that it would not be coming back. Thorn had been dealt with. Looking at Ku sitting there with a black cloak, Yang realized that she hadn't actually thought about Thorn for quite a while. Strange, considering how much the thing had creeped Yang out at first.

The blonde sighed, leaning back in her seat as the transport made its way to their target location. She thought back on the other Rubys and how strange these last few weeks had been. Seven Rubys. Strange to think how normal they had become. Yang had come to realize that their life would never be the same after this was all over.

She _would_ miss Red. There was no getting around that.

A new sound drew the blonde's attention – humming. It was coming from Weiss, sitting right next to her. "What's that one, Weiss? Doesn't sound familiar…"

Ice-blue eyes looked over at her, and Weiss replied, "Our singing tonight reminded me of a few songs I never finished writing. Just thought I'd give a few of them a try, see if anything new came of it."

"And…?"

"Nothing yet."

" _We're almost ready to land,"_ buzzed the pilot. _"Please fasten your seat belts."_

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _10:32 PM  
City of Vale, Downtown Area – Atlas Military Command Center_

…

Sapphire hadn't had much opportunity to see Atlas' mobile command units in action before. It was rather impressive. Since this one focused on communication, there was plenty of radar dishes and radio antennas to keep the other forces in constant contact. There were also plenty of ground troops to keep the General safe – no less than four Paladin mechs and a full squadron of robotic soldiers.

General Ironwood certainly ran his army differently than General Black did back home. General Black liked to go on the offensive more often than not, preferring to keep his operations short and to the point. Ironwood seemed to prefer defense, digging his forces in and coming out ahead, even if it meant a prolonged battle. It took more effort and resources, but she could see that his victory using such methods was far more secure in the long run.

"Sapphire, what's the status of the other outposts?" It had taken the man a bit of effort to consider Sapphire as just one of his soldiers. He had enough on his plate as it was without worrying about having _two_ Schnee specialists.

"Outposts one and two report no problems. Three reported a minor technical failure, but nothing serious. No reports of enemy movement yet, but all three are keeping their eyes open." Sapphire had no trouble adjusting to her current role of assisting the General. That was where she belonged, in her opinion.

Ironwood nodded, "Good. Keep me informed of any update with Qrow's team as well. Sergeant…" he barked at a nearby soldier manning one of the screens, "Connect me to Penny."

Buttons were pressed and switches thrown, and moments later Penny's face was displayed on a holographic interface. "Sal-u- _tations,_ General Ironwood, sir!" The hologram gave a salute.

"How are things in the system? Any disturbance?"

"Nothing yet, sir, but I'm ready for anything they throw at me! Nothing will harm this system as long as I'm here!"

"Good. Carry on."

"Sir!" The image winked out a moment later.

Sapphire glanced out the front of the tent where the equipment was set up, looking at Amity Stadium in the distance. She had visited the one back home, once, and while she assumed it was the same here, there was no way to be sure. It _was_ a different world, after all. In both worlds, the Stadium represented the joint efforts of each of the four kingdoms to maintain the peace following the Great War. Seeing it in the hands of terrorists… it was hard to keep her composure when she thought of things like that.

A lot of things were going to happen before tonight was over. Hopefully with as little bloodshed as possible.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _10:35 PM  
Beacon Academy, West Courtyard – Front Gate_

…

The night seemed deceptively quiet, considering the crisis happening out in town. Jaune adjusted his sword at his belt, settling it at his side as he continued his rounds. A yawn tried to come out, but he just managed to stifle it.

Team JNPR's shift at the front gate was almost over, and they would soon be relieved. Ozpin made it clear that they, along with several other teams, were responsible for making sure things stayed quiet and calm at Beacon tonight. There was no telling what would happen.

Just at the edge of his vision, Jaune spotted Pyrrha heading his way. She didn't bother trying to hide her yawn – she could have swallowed a basketball with the width. _Damn._

Once again, as he had been doing all night thus far, Jaune ran through his most recent training routines in his head. Sapphire had been very …vigilant at drilling them into his head, even given the short time she had to do it. Pyrrha's training was effective for the time, but he knew he had to move on sooner or later… and thanks to Sapphire Schnee, it turned out to be sooner.

He only hoped she would be available for another lesson or two before she left. There was still so much he wanted to learn.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _10:36 PM  
Amity Stadium, Main Control Room_

…

There were times Cinder wished Adam would just take that damn mask off. This was one of those times. The man could be so hard to read if he kept quiet.

"You and your flunkies may just be out to cause chaos, but my soldiers and I fight for a higher cause. We fight for freedom."

That's better. Cinder fought hard to keep from smiling. If he kept talking, then he was much easier to control.

The stadium's control room was a bit crowded at the moment. Each of the dozen or so control stations had a White Fang officer at the keyboard. The various security monitors showed empty hallways, empty arena seating, and empty storerooms. The operations room was full, though – full of hostages awaiting their promised execution. Adam Taurus had too much of a flair for the dramatic, if you asked her.

"The more your enemies are afflicted by our 'chaos,'" Cinder stated icily, "the easier you and your noble soldiers can claim your freedom. All I ask is that you keep them focused on their targets and away from my 'flunkies.'"

"Our alliance ended at the Breach, Fall. I don't take orders from you."

"Of course not. Merely a request. I'd hate to see how you fare fighting the forces of Atlas and Vale if they were, say… fully organized and ready for you?"

"Are you _threatening_ me?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Cinder strutted away, leaving Adam to ponder the implied meaning of her words. The door slid shut behind her.

After a short elevator ride and a few minutes of walking, Cinder came to the arena section of the stadium. The seats seemed to go on for miles, thousands of them, all surrounding the central ring. It was rather remarkable for a peacetime creation, what with its retractable floors and adjustable environments. All for giving the audience a show. Sad, really.

Cinder pulled out her scroll, a new one she stole a few days ago that still worked, and called Mercury. "How are things on your end?"

" _Em's all plugged in and on her way. Lucky for her that capsule is enclosed… otherwise I'd be inclined to 'decorate' her face with a marker…"_

"Save the screwing around for when it's over. And stay focused… there are too many Atlas soldiers crawling around for us to let our guard down."

" _They actually put up a tent about a quarter mile away from here. Buncha robots with 'em, too."_

"All the more reason to stay on your toes. You know what to do if they get too close."

" _Of course. Now to write something naughty on the glass…"_

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _10:48 PM  
Grassy Hill, One Mile Away From White Fang Supply Warehouse_

…

Ku was going home. They had already said their goodbyes, complete with long and sappy hugs. Yang missed her already.

Rain and team RWBY sat silently in the darkness, watching the distant warehouse and waiting for the flash of light to tell them that Ku had successfully opened the portal and gone home. That was what Rain _said_ would happen, anyway. The ancient girl seemed _quieter_ tonight, if that was possible.

It was very dark, too. Normally the facility would have been lit up with spotlights, but according to Rain, Carmine had already hacked the power grid and cut the electricity to the facility. They would never see Ku coming. Or team RWBY, after Ku was gone. All part of the plan.

"I'm kinda jealous," Ruby said quietly. They were all trying to stay as hidden as possible until the flash appeared – then they'd ride hard and smash the place up. "Ku gets to go home and see Mom… but we don't."

"Hey, don't worry about it Rubes." Yang rubbed her sister's back lightly. "Maybe we can ask Carmine to find some photos of Mom that we don't have and send them to us…"

"Or you could ask her to send _you_ to one of those other worlds she mentioned… maybe one where your Mom survived?" Weiss asked, trying to offer something helpful. Ruby's eyes sparkled at the idea of seeing her Mom again, even if it was one from a different world.

Rain spoke up next, not looking over at any of them. "Out of the 4,000 or so worlds we've fully scanned, we've confirmed that in close to 95% of them, Summer Rose had already passed away. In the other 5%, her fate is considered 'unknown.'"

"So Ku's world is one of the 5% …right? Lucky thing." Yang asked.

Rain didn't reply right away, but when she did, Yang felt her stomach drop into her shoes.

"Nope."

There was a tense pause. All of team RWBY seemed to catch the implications of that single word. "But didn't you say that you were sending Ku back to her mother? Back home?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"I said I was sending her to her mother…"

Rain's head slowly turned away from the view of the warehouse, taking them all in with a steady sweep. Rain's eyes eventually came to rest on Yang and stared fully into hers. Yang felt herself growing cold.

"…I never said she was still alive."

At that precise moment, the warehouse exploded. There was no flash.

It wasn't a little _bang_ , nor was it a series of larger _booms._ No, this was a ground-shattering, soul-crushing _KA-BOOM_ that sent a gigantic ball of fire several miles into the atmosphere. The shockwave alone knocked all four teens flat on their butts. Rain stayed upright, naturally. Her gaze never left Yang, even while the blonde was tumbling backwards over the grass.

Nothing could have survived that.

In the first few seconds following the blast, Yang's mind raced with possibilities. They could have rigged the whole thing to blow – but no, they would not have wasted so much dust for a single building. Maybe there was another force attacking them – but why didn't anyone tell _this_ team? Every half-formed theory was quickly shot down.

When she finally stopped sliding across the ground, Yang turned and saw Rain still standing amidst the flames. She looked as unimpressed as always.

In that moment, Yang _knew_.

The blonde's head was spinning. She spared no thoughts for the mission, nor for her friends around her. They were probably fine. Her full attention was on the girl in front of her, standing still amidst the hellfire she had caused. Standing like she _hadn't_ just murdered one of their own in cold blood.

She had just…

Ku… Ku was…

Yang's vision faded to red as a scream tore from her throat. She had no memory of what followed.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Sapphire felt the ground tremble before she noticed the fireball lighting up the southern horizon. _Overdoing it a bit, aren't you guys?_ She knew full well what team RWBY's mission included, but she didn't expect that extreme of a display. General Black would have been proud. She then turned back into the command center to report to Ironwood. The real battle was soon to start.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Cinder was too far away to feel the shockwave of the blast, but she could imagine it from the look of the fireball. Even from this distance, that was massive. Almost pretty, really. She chuckled to herself as she watched the flames rise into the upper reaches, imagining it as the signal of the dawn of a new era. _Her_ era. _Let the fun begin._

…

… … …

… … … … …

Jaune couldn't tell what that light was, but it must have been huge for him to see it from so far off. Somewhere to the south was all he could tell. It almost looked like a lightning strike, but he'd never seen one last that long before. Hopefully it was not a bad sign. All he wanted was to finish his rounds and get to bed.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Their airship had been knocked back about 50 feet, but survived the blast with minimal damage. They could still get back to the city. Fires surrounded their hill, but other than a few bruises, all of team RWBY was just fine.

The same could not be said of Rain. Or Yang's battered heart.

The blonde sat near Rain's unmoving body, hands bloodied and face twisted in grief. Tears streamed down her face with impunity. Ruby had just managed to pull the maniacal teen off of Rain in order to calm her down, but the damage had been done. Rain's face had been bashed in. Weiss stood near Blake as the pair just tried to comprehend what had happened.

Ku. The adult-child was gone. There was simply no way she could have gotten out of there. No flash, no nothing. Yang knew her well enough to know that Ku wanted to see her mother more than anything, and so would have gone through with all of her instructions, no matter how complex they seemed.

Looking back, Yang wondered how she didn't see the animosity between Ku and Rain. Sure Thorn was a problem, but that didn't excuse … _this._ Nothing could have justified such extreme measures. Good gods and holy hell…

At the same time, Yang's reaction seemed a bit extreme as well. She'd never just _gone off_ on someone like that. True, she knew full well that if anyone did something to _her_ Ruby they'd get much the same, but still… damn.

"Do you feel better now?" A dry voice said from next to Yang. The blonde jumped and nearly ran. How the _bloody_ hell…?

Rain sat up, her bloodied face … _rebuilding_ _itself_ somehow. The mouth was fully restored, so she spoke normally. "Our mission here is done. Load up… we've still got a lot of work to do."

"You killed her," Yang whispered dangerously.

The eyes were still regenerating as Rain started walking by them, heading for the transport. "Once we're back at the command center, I want Ruby and Weiss to join up with Rose and Red in the city. Blake and Yang, I want-"

"No."

The low roar of the nearby flames was the only sound as Rain stopped walking and turned towards Yang. The blonde turned as well, facing her. The ancient redhead's face had fully re-formed by this point, and the force of their stares was almost as hot as the fire. Ruby backed away with a whimper.

"Yang…" Rain started.

"You killed her. You _killed_ her. Give me one good reason why I should listen to anything else you have to say." Yang's eyes were a blazing crimson.

Rain said nothing.

Yang took a step closer. "If you want to treat this battle like a fucking game, then be my guest. If you want to play around with people's lives, go right ahead. But you'll do it without us!" Another step, and she was now in punching range. "I won't let you risk my friends! My family! _No more!"_

Rain remained silent, her face unchanged… but her hands had balled up into trembling fists.

"I thought I could trust you… but I won't make _that_ mistake again."

"Yang…" Rain's voice almost trembled.

" _I hate you!"_ The blonde punctuated her words with one last right cross to the face, complemented by a shot from Ember Celica to drive the point home. A single, bloody tooth fell to the ground from Rain's mouth, but otherwise she remained as she was.

Several tense minutes passed as the blonde brawler held the gaze of the ancient redhead, unknowable emotions flowing between them. Ruby, Weiss and Blake could only look on from the sidelines, powerless to do anything other than shiver. Yang rarely ever got _that_ angry before.

"Fine," Rain murmured, wiping her mouth with one hand. "Do whatever you want." Her body was briefly engulfed by a burst of pale light, and then she was gone. Just vanished. One of her little time tricks, no doubt.

Yang suddenly collapsed to the ground, tears flowing freely as she let loose a barrage of wails. All of her emotions had broken free.

Ku was gone. Dead. Killed by one of her friends.

The sense of betrayal cut her like a hot knife to the gut.

Yang barely registered the feeling of arms wrapping around her as her friends embraced her, some of them crying too. She knew that Ku had become important to at least a few of them, so she said nothing. They simply shared the moment.

Pain. Loss. They sat there and cried it out.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _10:50 PM  
Halfway Between the Grassy Hill and the City of Vale_

…

Rain reappeared some distance away from the hill where she'd left the others, safely out of sight. No longer concerned with anyone seeing her, she let her own tears flow, but not of sadness. These were frustration.

"Dammit, Yang! I was trying to _protect you!_ I didn't… I didn't want to… hurt you…" She pounded the dirt with one fist, choking on her words. Tears began to squeeze from the corners of her eyes.

Yang's punches didn't hurt, not even that last one. But her words… Rain would rather have let a thousand Yangs punch her full strength for days on end than endure that rejection.

 _I hate you!_

To be honest, she'd been planning this from the beginning. She never intended to let the dual-personality woman live through this. How could she have imagined that Yang, of all people, would have latched onto the childish side of her? Yang, the very target of the woman's darker, violent side. Yang, the only one Rain would have killed to protect.

 _I hate you!_

Rain took a deep breath, calming her nerves with relative ease. She'd had plenty of practice at it. Face returned to normal, she gazed northward at the city and focused. Time was short, and now she couldn't rely on team RWBY for help. It was a shame, but there was nothing she could do to fix it. Not now, anyway.

The ancient girl vanished once again, heading for the command center to meet up with Ironwood.

The battle was soon to start.

… … … … …

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… … … … …

 _10:51 PM  
City of Vale, Downtown Area_

…

A few minutes ago, there had been a large fireball a few miles to the south. Someone had died in that blast. Someone else had been responsible. Anyone watching from the rooftops here would never have known _that_ detail, but it wouldn't have been their fault.

The lone figure stood atop a tall apartment building at the southern edge of the city, watching the still-glowing horizon. Watching the fire. Wondering if she could spot the four girls left behind. Or maybe the one who left them there.

Her deep black cloak blended into the darkness of the night like it was cut from the same cloth. Her hood was raised, shrouding the face beneath in deep shadows. Her teeth shone white as she grinned evilly.

"You'll have to try harder than that… ya cold _bitch…_ heh heh heh… heh ha ha… hahahahahahaaaa…"

The figure turned, waving one hand at the air. A bright flash of blue-green light signaled the opening of a tear in space. She was still cackling as she walked through, vanishing from this world for good.

'Ku' was dead. And good riddance.

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: The climax begins! This is the first of five parts that will take us through to the end of this battle… where we go from there depends on how they do, doesn't it? :3**

 **=^w^=**


	17. The Long Night

**Author's Note:**

 **ME: Come on, brain… I need to get this next chapter out. I promised them I'd finish! It's already been too long as it is!**

 **BRAIN: No. Shut up. I do what I want. Time to play Kingdom Hearts…**

 **ME: I'll give you a cookie…**

 **BRAIN: …**

 **ME: Double chocolate chips… your favorite…**

 **BRAIN:** _ **Then what are we waiting for? Let me at that keyboard! I'll write their freaking pants off!**_

…

 **Sorry for the delay… again… I really am trying to get this part of the story done, but real life is just getting worse. I hardly have any time to myself lately. Things** _ **should**_ **relax soon, but only time will tell.**

… … …

" _Wait, …you're_ how _old?" Carmine blinked, unbelieving. She must have heard wrong. There was just no way._

 _The girl who called herself Rain merely sipped her coffee patiently. "I don't have an exact count, but I know it's close to 2,000 years. I might be off by one or two centuries – I stopped counting a long time ago."_

 _Carmine, as she now called herself, simply stared in shock. How could a human live that long? Anywhere_ near _that long? It simply couldn't be._

 _But then, there also couldn't be two of the same people in the same room, yet here they sat._

" _And I thought_ **I** _was old…_ gods _…" Carmine ignored her coffee, just trying to wrap her brain around the concept of someone living that long. Maybe she simply wasn't …human? A robot? Some kind of space alien?_

 _Rain stood from her chair and walked to the large window overlooking the campus of Beacon Academy. She had already shown a great interest in the state of the place, but so far had declined to explain why. Carmine watched her, hoping to catch any sign that might give away what the girl was thinking. She might as well have watched a statue._

 _The newcomer spoke with a quiet voice, "…The Beacon I knew was never this grand, this… prosperous. What happened to bring it to this point?"_

"I _happened," Carmine responded without hesitation. "While I don't take credit for every advancement made these last few years, I am burdened with the responsibility of it. In a way, Beacon is my pet project. My baby."_

" _I wonder how my world would have ended up… if you were there…" Rain murmured, her voice fading away as she gazed out into the distance._

 _Carmine suddenly remembered the scene from just over an hour ago: total devastation. Rain was sitting atop a cliff and watching a dead, broken city. It looked like it might have been Vale, but Carmine couldn't recognize enough buildings to be sure. What struck her the most was the silence. Pure, unbroken quiet. Like the entire world was just… dead._

 _What kind of person lived in a dead world? How would that affect one's personality? And most worrying of all –_ how _did that world die in the first place?_

 _As Carmine looked at Rain again, she got a chill. It suddenly occurred to the mad scientist that a girl like this was capable of anything._

 _What had she gotten herself into?_

… … …

Carmine took a shaky breath, swallowing the lump that was starting to form in her throat. She knew Rain might do anything, but to find out she actually _did…_ the scientist was sweating in spite of the room's air conditioning. Her lab was the only place she needed to be tonight.

"Understood, Ruby… thanks for telling me." She was somewhat proud of herself for keeping her voice steady.

" _Most of the fires around here are almost out, so we're just gonna wait in the airship and catch our breath. Yang's still pretty shaken up. We all are."_ She definitely sounded like it. They had basically just witnessed a murder, after all.

"Okay… once you're ready, head back here. You can all get some sleep. I'll make sure this mission gets done, don't worry. You can… you can trust _me,_ at least…"

"Yeah…" She didn't sound too convinced, but the radio clicked off a moment later. Carmine took a deep breath and sat back in her chair, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

The chair rippled beneath her – Omega sensed its masters emotions and tried to lighten the discomfort with a little massage. Carmine smiled, stroking the arm of the chair lightly. It rippled again, seemingly content.

Rain. They would have words later. _Harsh_ words.

The fact that Rain had brought the crazy version of Ruby – later called Ku – into this mess _at all_ was very surprising. It went against every plan they had in place. Now that the girl was gone, Carmine felt like she understood a little of Rain's reasoning. Only a little.

By no means was the matter forgiven. Rain had a lot of explaining to do.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Ruby Rose walked back to the passenger compartment after her talk with Carmine, sighing deeply. She was still reeling from the loss.

After finally feeling like she was starting to understand Rain a little, Ruby suddenly felt like that girl was truly from another planet. Like her thoughts were so foreign that wrapping her mind around them was almost impossible. After a few weeks, she really didn't know Rain at all.

Ruby sat down next to Yang, who looked the worst of them. The blonde was staring intently at the floor of the cabin, clutching her own shoulders with shaking hands. After their crying had stopped, Yang took on a shocked look and kept it. Ruby could understand why – her big sister had basically _killed_ someone with her bare hands.

True, that someone didn't _stay_ dead… but that didn't change the basic fact that Yang had completely lost control.

Blake's ribbon was pressed almost flat against her head from the pressure of her ears. "How'd she take it?" The brunette's knees had been twitching from agitation for a while now.

"Oddly well… I think she almost expected it," Ruby replied tiredly. "Carmine _has_ had the most experience with Rain out of all of us, so maybe she did. _Gods_ …" The redhead put her head down and rubbed her face with both hands.

" _She killed her…"_ Yang whispered. She'd said that a few times, now.

From her seat next to Blake, Weiss looked over at the blonde with a look that might have been called arrogant on anyone else – but the three other girls knew her better than that by now. "Yang Xiao Long, … … …I know I'll never fully understand what you're feeling right now, but we all need you to move past it. If you keep holding on to the pain like this, it's going to drive you insane. And _us_ , as well…"

There was a tense pause as they waited to see if Yang even heard her. The blonde took one more breath, then choked out a small laugh.

"Well… … … now I know how I'd react… … … if anyone ever took _Ruby_ away from me… … …"

The other three exchanged glances as they waited for her to keep talking. This was a good start, but they had to be careful. Blake appeared a bit relieved, Weiss was more satisfied. Ruby was ready to just hold Yang and have them both cry for a few more hours.

"I think… … … I thought it _was_ Ruby that was dead… … … at first… … … Ku had started to act so much like Ruby did when she was little that I… … … I started thinking of them as the same person… … … Oh, gods… … … what have I done?"

After a beat of silence, Weiss replied, "Nothing that didn't _need_ to be done. Honestly, that girl deserved to get messed up a bit… if only for being so selfish and secretive. Now she knows not to mess with us."

"Are we really gonna just… go back to the room and go to bed?" Blake stared at her hands, trying not to look too concerned. "What about the others? Can they really handle this on their own?"

"Carmine said she'd take care of it. I don't know about you guys, but I'm choosing to trust her," Ruby answered. Blake and Weiss nodded quietly. Sometimes it was nice to act like the team leader for a change.

After a quick word with their pilot, team RWBY's transport began it's ascent into the night sky. Smoke continued to stream upwards from the few lingering brush fires that hadn't quite burned out yet, but the stars were still clearly visible through the windows. Even if there was something of a war going on tonight, at the very least they would have a nice view of the heavens.

Yang leaned over and laid her head on Ruby's shoulder, sighing. She didn't seem to be crying anymore, so that was good. Ruby hoped her sister wouldn't be _too_ disturbed by what happened… that sort of thing could leave some serious mental scars if they weren't careful. Ruby wrapped her arm around Yang's shoulder and leaned her own head back, trying not to think too much.

Team RWBY's part in this battle was over.

She _hoped_ it was, anyway.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 17:** _  
_ **The Long Night**

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 _10:55 PM  
Amity Stadium, South Docking Station_

…

Qrow Branwen was a spy in name only. At least, that's what he always told the others. Tai and Summer, specifically. Tonight was the first time that felt like a total lie.

James had been kind enough to 'loan' his team a new prototype low-visibility airship to sneak onto the stadium. Qrow was currently making his way into the bowels of the structure with his team close behind him. They weren't hand-picked – which he would have _greatly_ preferred – but James had assured him they were the best.

Coming from Atlas, that likely meant _he'd_ still have to do all the work. Good-for-nothing pampered fools, the lot of 'em. At least they'd been trained in non-verbal communication. The last thing he needed was a legion of White Fang nut-jobs running down their collective throats because one of his men shouted 'Huh? What did you say?' As such, his small crew made their way into the depths of the facility without a sound.

Qrow never actually _liked_ his job. Sure it had its moments, but gathering information was overall just too damn boring. And frustrating. Especially when the higher-ups get ahold of information on their own and don't _tell you._ Yeah, he had no intention of letting James forget about _that_.

Despite the issues, it was the only job he seemed capable of doing. He was practically _made_ for it. Or maybe it was just Ozpin's little gift… He and Raven had never managed to get out from under that man's shadow.

Okay, focus. Hostages first, then time to drink and whine about life later.

The operations room was just ahead. From what Qrow had been told by Atlas' 'supreme' intelligence network (yeah, right), all of the twenty-odd hostages were being held in the large staging room just under the main arena floor. There was a lot of sensitive machinery in there – and a lot of dust containers. One bad shot could do some serious damage. They had to be careful.

A locked door stood before them. One of the members of the team crept forward, an electronic device in his hand. He plugged it into the lock and hit a few buttons.

Qrow made sure to stay the hell away from it while the man worked. No sense in letting his personal brand of bad luck ruin everyone's night.

Once they were in, all they had to do was wait for the right moment to move in and start getting the people out. Their craft was more than large enough to fit them all.

Of course, if they waited _too_ long, they wouldn't have as many _to_ save.

Qrow swallowed hard as the device continued its beeping. There was a lot at stake here. He clutched the handle of his sword tightly. He'd been having a bad feeling ever since they landed, and it was only getting worse. Something was wrong, here. This had almost been…

 _Too easy._

Just moments before the door opened, Qrow's earpiece buzzed with a frantic call from the man he'd left at the transport as a lookout. The White Fang had found him…? What? They were… taking the transport…?

Then the door opened. A dozen White Fang soldiers poured out of the opening, guns locked and loaded. Adam Taurus actually followed them out, grinning like he'd just won the entire war himself.

Qrow let loose his best curse. He'd been saving it for _just_ the right moment.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _11:10 PM  
City of Vale, Downtown Area – Atlas Military Command Center_

…

The table was now a small pile of splinters and two broken halves. Ironwood's robotic arm was more than strong enough to toss a full-grown Grimm through the air – one little wooden table didn't stand a chance before his frustration.

His men watched him with wary eyes, some visibly trembling. Those were new. Most of the soldiers who served under General James Ironwood knew how strong his arm was. And his temper. Occasional displays served to keep them on their toes.

Qrow had failed. The prototype airship had been stolen. Could this night get any worse?

Ironwood listened to the rest of Sapphire Schnee's report with half an ear. He had expected most of the news anyway. The woman had proven herself just as capable as his other Schnee officer, and in some ways better. Not that he intended to mention _that_.

Two things had become clear to Ironwood over the last few minutes. First was the fact that he had been vastly underestimating his opponent. The White Fang soldiers were better trained than he had anticipated, causing his own troops no end of grief thus far. The fact that his own intelligence network seemed unable to keep up with them proved how resourceful they were at keeping secrets.

The second issue was sabotage. No orders had been transmitted regarding Qrow's infiltration mission, nor were any messages sent over the network. He had made sure to give Qrow this mission face-to-face. The only way the enemy could have learned of the operation was the presence of a spy in his command tent.

Espionage was _not_ his strong point, but Ironwood was keen enough to keep his suspicion in check for the time being. If the spy ran away because they knew their cover had been blown, he would _never_ find out how deep they had looked into his secrets.

As Sapphire finished her report, Ironwood gave a few orders. Most came out automatically. This sort of thing didn't require his full attention at the moment – his gaze slowly swept over the soldiers gathered in his tent, most of them at various consoles relaying orders.

Which of them was the spy? Were any of them? Were _all_ of them? Was he just being paranoid? Maybe…

And maybe a Deathstalker would suddenly sprout wings.

The girl called Rain had given him a brief report a few minutes ago regarding the operation south of the city. Other than one casualty, James would have called it a success. In all honesty, the fact that those kids had withdrawn from the rest of the operation was a relief in itself. He didn't want them getting involved any more than Ozpin did.

Sapphire had proven herself more than useful and Carmine's technical support was becoming invaluable – other than that, though, James would have preferred to keep _all_ of those kids back at the school. It was safer there.

All in all, tonight was going well. Not _great,_ but well. As long as nothing else went horribly wrong, he knew they would all pull through and win the battle.

As Sapphire went to relay his orders, Ironwood glanced south towards the smoke that continued to rise to the sky. He remembered that distant fireball. And he shuddered.

…

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… … … … …

 _11:16 PM  
Beacon Academy, West Courtyard – Front Gate_

…

Velvet didn't bother holding back her yawn as team CFVY made its way into the front courtyard area of the campus. It was past her bedtime.

Team JNPR was just ahead, the first-years also looking weary and ready for sleep. Coco exchanged a few words with Jaune, JNPR's leader. Nothing exciting to report, ho-hum. Ozpin must be getting paranoid in his old age, yada-yada.

Standing next to Velvet in the darkness of the evening, Fox suddenly turned his head and gazed unblinking into the sky. "Something's coming," he muttered. "Sounds like an airship."

"But this isn't the dock," Velvet muttered in response. His quiet tone of voice naturally made her keep her own voice low. "And I don't hear anything. Are you sure…?"

But she _was_ hearing something. A low humming, almost like speakers pumping a deep bass tone at low volume. She exchanged a look with Yatsuhashi, who had heard the whole exchange, and the two of them began their search.

It didn't take long. Velvet and Yatsuhashi soon found themselves staring at a new type of airship that was currently unloading several dozen soldiers with white Grimm-style masks.

White Fang. And they were all armed.

The two second-years slowly made their way back to the others to raise the alarm. It looked like Ozpin was right.

So much for getting back to bed.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _11:17 PM  
City of Vale, Downtown Area – Near the Warehouse District_

…

Red was having a rough night.

Everything that happened after the singing was just… well, it sucked. First he gets yanked into this big anti-terrorist operation, then he gets put in charge of a battalion of Atlas robo-soldiers (and he hated being in charge), and now he has to deal with the fact that Yang would _not_ be arriving later to give him some backup.

On top of all of that was Carmine's news about Ku. He knew that both Sapphire and Rose had also gotten the message, and he wondered how they were taking it. Red had never gotten close to Ku, but the adult-child was always fun to have around. She brightened up the room no matter where she was.

And now that light was gone. Snuffed out by Rain.

The news had shaken him a bit, but mostly due to the idea that he was no longer guaranteed to make it back home. Once, that had been his only safe thought, but now… now who could say?

Amber Celica gleamed in the dim light of the street lamps as he sat next to Rose, waiting for their signal to attack. He had given his gauntlets a good cleaning less than an hour ago, hoping they wouldn't get too much use before the night was over. A foolish hope, that. Rose had her own Crescent Rose in her lap, folded up into its more portable form. She looked nervous, too.

The large warehouse district stood before them, but the crew had eyes for only one of the buildings. According to Carmine's intel, this was the enemy's base. The plan was simple: Sapphire would attack head-on from the front, drawing out the main force, Red would lead a rear charge and lure out any forces laying in wait, and then Rose would sneak in from the side and disable whatever was left before they even knew she was in there.

It seemed simple, but it required a lot of coordination and good timing. Not to mention being able to actually _defeat_ the enemy that came out after them.

Red's earpiece buzzed, and he noticed Rose reacting to hers as well. That was the signal. Time to move.

He moved into position quickly and quietly, giving the Atlas robots the signal to assume formation. His job was simply to draw out the enemy forces, not charge in and quickly destroy. He was a decoy… but he was fine with that.

Rose vanished around the side of the building just a few moments before a small door opened at the base of the warehouse, revealing a very small woman with an odd pink-and-brown hairstyle and a bright smile on her face. She sauntered out to Red's waiting forces while twirling a small umbrella. And she really was small, shorter than anyone Red had ever met save for kids in grade school.

Almost by instinct, Red used his semblance to get a read on the newcomer. He noticed a solid frame, lithe muscles that appeared quite capable of rapid movement, and a powerful set of nerves that could probably match Mom for sheer reaction speed. And that was saying something. All-in-all, Red assumed this girl would not be too much of a challenge.

He would soon learn otherwise.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Sapphire's night had been going… okay.

Other than the debacle of Qrow's team getting caught and Ironwood's stealth transport getting stolen and used for gods-knew-what, there had been no other major problems. No communication breakdowns, no guerrilla ambushes of their troops, and no all-out assaults on any of their outposts.

The news of Ku's death did not bother Sapphire much. In truth, she found herself mildly impressed that Rain could pull off something like that. She had made a mental note to ask Rain later tonight for details on how she made such a big _boom_. She was also slightly relieved that she would not have to deal with any of the 'kids' on team RWBY. This mission needed experienced soldiers, not children.

The Schnee woman now led a large assault force against the warehouse where they had learned the enemy was hiding out. Not the White Fang, but the small band of mercenaries that had been helping them. The group that was the 'real' source of the trouble.

Personally, Sapphire would have preferred leading this force of hers in an assault on Amity Stadium – but orders were orders, and she would _not_ be the one to stand against the General this night. Even if she disagreed with his methods or his ideals, she was sworn to follow orders. Death before dishonor.

One of the large garage-style doors at the front of the massive building began to rise, the motor buzzing as it lifted. Sapphire raised a hand to halt her forces as a young man ducked out from underneath. Even from a distance, she recognized his face.

Mercury Black. Of all people. Why not?

It took Sapphire a few moments to remember to keep breathing.

"If you're thinking about blowing us away, Snowflake…" Gods, even his _voice_ was the same. "You might wanna reconsider. We've got enough dust stored here to wipe out half the city."

Sapphire swallowed hard, silver eyes narrow as she fought to keep her voice steady. "And why should I believe you?"

The young man shrugged, his every movement dripping with smugness. "Believe what you want, but you're not getting past me." He turned into a ready stance, his legs _clunk-_ ing slightly with the motion. If she hadn't been listening for it, Sapphire would have missed the noise.

The first time Sapphire had met General Mercury Black was the day after she had been accepted into Atlas Academy. He had been a little older than this one, but his eyes had the same fire behind them. The attitude, the passion, even his mechanical legs… there was no doubt it was the same man.

Sapphire pulled her sword free with a trembling hand. It didn't matter that she knew that this Mercury was _not_ the same as her General back home – he was just too close. She had trained herself too hard to consider him as the only authority worth following. The only man she had ever respected enough to obey, no matter what.

Physically, Sapphire Schnee could beat almost anyone. Mentally, she didn't stand a chance against this young man. He grinned, almost like he sensed his new advantage even from the short distance between them.

This was _not_ going to end well.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Rose was actually enjoying herself tonight.

She had always wanted to take part in a large military-style mission, even when she was younger. They always looked so _cool_. It was unfortunate that most of her missions during her first year at Beacon were of the more …boring persuasion. Just killing Grimm, among other things.

Now she could do _actual_ Huntress work. So cool. Rose found herself with more nervous energy than she knew what to do with.

Being sent into the enemy base through a side entrance made her feel like a spy, too. And she moved quietly – Uncle Qrow had given her a few pointers on sneaking around a few years ago. She mostly used this knowledge to sneak a few drinks when Dad and the guys weren't looking. Good times.

 _Dammit, girl, stay focused._

Her mission involved mostly gathering intel (in other words, figuring out what the hell she was looking at) and moving to disable the enemy base (a.k.a., blow crap up). As she moved through the dark rooms, with the light from outside shining dimly through the dusty windows, Rose quickly found a small room near the center of the building that was brightly lit. She moved to the door and peeked inside.

The first thing she noticed was the large metal cylinder with a glass section on the top half. Near that was a wide bank of computer terminals and other technical crap. It looked important, but Rose was not very tech savvy – that was more Carmine's area of expertise. If she had to guess, however, Rose would say they were likely all stolen.

That was all the time she had for observing, however. In the next moment, the door opened right into her face with a bang. Both Rose and the one who opened the door gave a surprised grunt.

Emerald Sustrai stood before her, scroll in hand. Her face quickly went from annoyed to shocked. Rose's own face mirrored the look as both girls said, in perfect unison, " _You!"_

Crimson eyes flashed moments before Rose heard a crash off to her left. She glanced away, only to find an empty hall and a broken window.

She looked back… but Emerald was already gone. _Dammit!_

Rose quickly ducked back into the larger bay of the warehouse, hiding herself behind one of the many support columns scattered throughout the space. Emerald was supposed to be a good fighter, and excellent at hit-and-run tactics, but all Rose could think about was that face.

Not that long ago, back in her own world, her partner Coco had told Rose that _that_ Emerald might have a crush on her. Now _this_ Emerald was trying to kill her. Fun.

A bit of plaster blew off of the column just inches from her face, jarring Rose from her daydream. She didn't see where the shot came from, but she moved quickly to another position, searching frantically.

Rose began cursing her own naïve nature. When they were all getting briefed on the mission, Carmine had offered to give them all the intel on their potential opponents right then, but Rose refused. She assumed she could handle anything they threw at her.

Only now did it occur to her that Rose knew almost _nothing_ about Emerald, or her semblance. Even back home, she never asked about that kind of thing. She never expected to have to _fight_ the girl, for crying out loud.

The warehouse still had power coming to it, so Rose began searching for the light switch. If she was going to fight the green-haired girl, she wanted to be able to _see_.

She also considered the small spray bottle in her waist pouch. The bottle that was for emergencies _only_. Carmine had insisted that she take it, but in truth Rose would rather have just thrown it away. After all, what use was it to use that medicine if she just… nullified it?

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _11:20 PM  
Amity Stadium, Arena_

…

Cinder Fall tucked her scroll away and grinned. Good news from Emerald. Now it was only a matter of waiting. Minutes, if she was lucky.

She'd never considered herself lucky before tonight. Up until now, she had made her own luck. Power was all she sought; now it was within her grasp.

It hadn't been that long ago that she and her associates, Emerald and Mercury, set out to take down a young woman called Amber. According to Salem, this brown-haired girl was actually the legendary Fall Maiden. Using the tool Salem had given her, Cinder had successfully stolen about half of the Maiden powers for herself. If not for that man with the scraggly beard, she would have had all of it.

No matter. Half turned out to be more than enough. Using her new strength, Cinder was quickly able to bring Adam Taurus and the White Fang to heel…

Quiet footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Cinder turned her attention to a lone young woman walking towards her from the other side of the arena. She grinned as she recognized the figure.

"I see the puppy has gotten lost. Should I call for your parents, little one?"

The figure kept walking, though Cinder knew she could hear the taunt. Her faded red cloak billowed in the breeze, showing off the tattered edge. Deep silver eyes locked with her own.

"Run along, child. This is no place for you." Cinder held up a hand and formed a small ball of orange fire to emphasize her point.

Rain, that was her name. The girl stopped on the other side of the arena from Cinder, not coming any closer. Maybe she _wasn't_ that stupid after all.

"Well, …perhaps the puppy could deliver a message for me. To Carmine, the one who holds your leash."

Rain twitched, causing Cinder to chuckle. It was fun to surprise the enemy.

"Tell her that she's not the only one around here who can hack into computer systems."

At this news, Rain seemed to look away. She appeared to be thinking. She then did a facepalm and muttered, "Wow… … … I can't _believe_ I forgot about Watts."

Cinder almost let her startled expression show itself, but held it back. She should have expected a man like Arthur Watts to be well known to people like this, but still… "Yes. It was thanks to him that we now know all about you people. You, Carmine, Sapphire Schnee, the boy called Red… _all_ of you."

No reaction this time. Apparently she was expecting this news.

"I will admit that it was surprising that so many different versions of that Ruby Rose girl actually exist, but in the end it was all for nothing. Two whole days of running around other worlds and all you found was four kids and one soldier. Five fighters… against my _army_."

It was at that moment that something seemed to pulse. The air itself seemed to glow around her body as …something… seemed to fill her. A power, a …force filled every inch of her being with energy, with _life._ This energy seemed to bend and move with her very will.

The time had come at last. Amber was finally dead.

Cinder couldn't resist laughing a bit as she juggled a few flames around her head. "And now I have the power of the Fall Maiden. You people had no chance."

Rain didn't seem to care. In fact, she didn't seem to hear anything Cinder had said. The girl finally spoke after a few moments of silence, but her words seemed to echo through the entire space of the arena.

"Amazing. Nearly everything you've just said is completely wrong."

…

… … …

… … … … …

Two trashcans and a full dumpster went flying as Red was sent hurling into them, leaving the boy both bruised _and_ dirty. Wonderful. Could this night get any better?

This pink-and-brown girl was _tough_. His initial scanning only scratched the surface of her combat abilities. It was almost like he'd read the wrong person… but that was impossible, wasn't it?

The girl landed lightly right next to him, not winded in the slightest. Nor was she even slightly dirtied. That was mainly due to the fact that Red was not able to land _one stinking punch_ on her all night. She dodged everything like he'd told her about it an hour beforehand. It was _unfair_.

Grunting, Red shot to his feet and tried again. He sent his leg out to try and trip her, then sent a heavy right hook, hoping to at least graze her shoulder or something.

The girl deftly cartwheeled over his leg, grabbed his oncoming hand, twisted to turn the force of his punch in a different direction, then planted one foot in his back and kicked hard, sending him flying. Again. For the fifth time in less than an hour. _Damn! It!_

As he landed back in the street, Red decided to take a breath. That last blow nearly broke another rib – she'd broken one with that little move the _first_ time she'd hit him with it, and he'd only just managed to avoid losing any more as they continued. His luck wouldn't hold for much longer.

She was walking towards him again, but her smile was no longer amused. It looked more like she'd had enough fun, and it was time to end this. Red realized with growing horror that she probably hadn't lost any aura during the scuffle, but Red's own shield had failed a few minutes ago. The girl held her umbrella like a sword… then pulled at the handle, revealing an _actual_ sword blade hidden within.

 _Welp,_ he thought, _I guess I'm not gonna make it home after all…_

Before she even reached him, the colorful girl stopped in her tracks and stared at something just past Red, her eyes showing confusion for the first time.

He was also confused at first, but then he looked behind him… and his jaw dropped.

A very large man was approaching from the darkness of the street. He was _huge_. He looked like he'd just come from the desert judging by how he was dressed, and one arm bore a metal gauntlet (which looked a little bit like his own).

The man's most distinguishing features, however, were the vast blindfold over the top of his head which covered his eyes… and his dark red, nearly black hair.

"Need some help, kid?"

…

… … …

… … … … …

Cinder's anger was slowly beginning to rise as the girl called Rain continued. She started channeling her newfound powers, gathering strength.

"First of all, Carmine does _not_ hold my leash. No one does. What I do, I do on my own. Second of all, you do _not_ know everything about us – you know only what is _written down._ "

…

… … …

… … … … …

Sapphire was alternating between cursing the gods, cursing General Ironwood, and cursing herself for being so incompetent.

As she feared, the Atlesian Specialist found herself unable to use her full strength against Mercury Black. She simply _could not_ get past the mental block that she was fighting her own commander. It was _infuriating._

The worst part was that the young man _did_ notice this, and had made the most of his advantage. The only marks he bore were tears to his shirt. Sapphire, on the other hand, was nearly out of ammo and had a lot more bruises than when she started.

He also never missed an opportunity to taunt his opponent. "What's the matter, Snowflake? Having an _off_ day?" He then put on a slightly concerned look, saying, "Wait… it's not 'that time of the month' …is it?"

With a growl, Sapphire used a glyph to shoot a bolt of ice at him – but he easily kicked it away.

"Well, I guess there's not much else for me to do here. Time to wrap this up."

Sapphire watched with a healthy amount of awe as Mercury started …dancing. At least, that's what it looked like. This was not something the Mercury from back home had ever done. He was spinning on the ground, shooting multiple shots from his mechanical legs as he spun. Each shot he fired seemed to slowly rotate in the air around him, like they were waiting for the signal to attack. The more he spun, the more shots were added to the crowd. It was rather impressive, actually. Sapphire made a mental note to mention this technique to the General… _if_ she ever made it home.

As Mercury stopped spinning, he faced her and grinned. Sapphire's heart sank as she realized that the chances of her making it home were suddenly _much_ more slim.

The shots began flying her way. She didn't have the strength to put up a shield.

One bullet seemed to hover just in front of her face, like time had slowed down.

…Just as a small ball of white light knocked it away.

Sapphire blinked in shock. With a blur of motion, two other tiny balls of white light suddenly joined the first, rapidly knocking all of Mercury's shots out of the air. _All_ of them.

Mercury's mouth fell open as he choked. Sapphire was speechless. The three balls of light gathered in front of Sapphire's face, slowly rotating in a triangular formation.

 _What the hell_ is _that?_

"Are you unharmed?" A new voice asked from… above?

Sapphire looked up to find someone who looked like an angel slowly descending towards her. This woman was wearing a fancy white robe and a rather _familiar_ deep red cloak, as well as a set of rather nice leather boots and gloves with silver inlay. She was holding a large staff with a glowing white stone set at the tip, but the staff was shaped like the standard Ruby Rose scythe.

As she landed, a set of glowing white wings vanished from her ankles. Sapphire was struck by the woman's dark red hair that lay in a fancy braid reaching her waist. She was quite beautiful… for a Ruby. The woman looked over at her with eyes as deep as Rain's, but far kinder. Lighter, even.

"Rest easy, …I'll handle _him_."

…

… … …

… … … … …

Cinder continued gathering energy as Rain kept speaking, each word landing a critical blow on the new Fall Maiden's composure.

"And thirdly, neither you nor Watts truly understand how travel between worlds works. You _think_ you do, but until you try it, you have no idea. In truth, time works very differently outside of the worlds. Two days passed here, but for me, it was closer to _two years._ "

Cinder felt herself go pale at that revelation. _If that were true_ … "What… what do you mean by that…?"

…

… … …

… … … … …

Rose apparently didn't need to be here anymore. Someone else had taken over the fight a few minutes ago.

She still hadn't found the light switch, but the darkness just made the newcomer look that much cooler. Especially those glowing red eyes.

Emerald's voice echoed from somewhere deep within the room, sounding rather pissed. "How many _freaks_ am I gonna have to deal with tonight?" Rose had no idea where she was, but she had finally figured out something about the green-haired girl – she was really, _really_ good at hiding. Numerous times Rose had seen shots being fired from empty corners.

The shadowy newcomer didn't seemed the least bit phased, however. Whoever she was, she stood taller than Rose and seemed to have various bits of armor on her arms and legs that glittered in the dim light. Rose found herself wishing she could at least _see_ this fighter.

"Target lost. Scanning… Scanning…" Rose was struck by how the newcomer spoke like a sci-fi killer robot. "Target acquired, commencing termination." She also sounded enough like a female that Rose simply thought of her that way. The woman raised one arm, aiming at another empty corner of the room, then her arm… _changed._ Like it was transforming, or something. In the dim light, Rose could not see what it was becoming… but a moment later, it fired a _blindingly_ bright burst of blue light.

The corner of the warehouse was suddenly… _not there._

Whoever this newcomer with the glowing eyes was, she was _strong._

…

… … …

… … … … …

Rain smiled, sending a powerful wave of goosebumps down Cinder's back.

" _Who said I only found_ _ **five**_ _fighters?"_

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I know** _ **I**_ **never said it would only be those five. :3**

 **=^w^=**


	18. The Storm Breaks

**Author's Note: Just to be clear, most of the events during this part of the story will constantly overlap. I'm trying to keep it organized by giving the times, but I know I'll just end up confusing myself as well as you all. Apologies in advance. :3**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _11:30 PM  
Beacon Academy Dormitories – Fourth Floor, Ruby Squad Room_

…

Cherry awoke with a jolt.

There were lots of smells coming across her nose, none of them pleasant. There were also lots of really loud noises. The strongest smell was panic. But there was an overall smell of fear that almost made her nose bleed.

She quickly shuffled out from under the covers, plopped to the floor, and ran out the door without bothering to grab her shoes. She still didn't know how to tie her laces yet, and she didn't have time to fumble around with them right now. Something smelled … _wrong_.

And besides, she preferred to go barefoot. She always did back home.

Cherry didn't bother with the big, moving closet with those buttons she couldn't reach – the small girl hopped down the stairs two at a time instead. She quickly reached the 'lob-ee,' as the Tall Ones often called it. Why they had to have such fancy names for _rooms_ was beyond the young catgirl's ability to understand.

Vel-vet was there, along with the other Tall Ones who usually stayed with her. Normally Cherry would have been smiling and calling her name, happy to see her friend. Tonight, however, she did not. They smelled too angry.

Vel-vet was bleeding. She had a hole in her shoulder. Cherry gave a yelp as she shot forward, eyes wide with panic. Who had hurt her? Why?

"Oh, no… you shouldn't be here… little one…" Vel-vet tried to say, but she was hurt so bad that she was starting to lose her breath. "Coco! Get… ah… _get her out of here!"_

The Tall One who smelled like coffee turned around, her eyes wide and angry behind her sunglasses, and said something Cherry couldn't hear over the buzz of gunfire. In fact, Cherry couldn't hear much of _anything_ over that buzzing noise.

And then she looked out the door where the coffee girl was aiming. She saw Tall Ones with white masks. The Bad.

She started to get angry again.

More yelling and gunfire sounded from a hallway to one side. The white mask people had come in through a side door or window, there was no way to know which, but that didn't matter.

They had the bang-sticks. And they were pointing them at Vel-vet.

Cherry smelled a powerful wave of fear come from Vel-vet.

And her vision began to go red.

… … …

 _Big Sis was holding her side with one hand and breathing hard. She had just beaten up a bunch of Bad Ones, and was catching her breath. She looked scary with her tail puffed out so wide like that._

" _Ruby…" she said while panting, "I know Mama made us promise… not to fight… but I had to. Those guys said they were going to hurt you."_

 _The child winced, holding her little hands close to her face as though protecting herself from the Bad Ones. The thought that they might have come after her… that was scary._

" _Please remember, Ruby… sometimes we_ have _to fight… sometimes we_ have _to get angry… to protect the ones we care about…"_

 _Ruby nodded, her body swaying slightly under the weight of her head. Tears squeezed out the corners of her eyes as she gave Big Sis a hug. "Thank you, 'Ku… but Mama will still be mad."_

 _Riku, as she was known to everyone else, gave the hug right back. "It's 'cause I love you, silly. I can face Mama's wrath any day of the week if it's for you."_

 _Ruby grinned mightily as 'Ku leaned down and planted a big 'ol kiss on her forehead. She really loved her Big Sis. She wanted to grow up to be just like her._

… … …

Cherry didn't know what was happening, but she knew what to do. She had to get angrier than before. Accept it. Embrace it. _Feed_ it. She had no idea how to do this, but it still happened… maybe by instinct?

She barely registered the fact that the Tall Ones around her seemed to be getting smaller.

Cherry knew that she had to let herself get really mad in order to protect Vel-vet and her friends. Cherry liked her friends. They all smelled funny, but they were all really nice. 'Ku had lots of friends back home – maybe this was what that was like?

The room also felt like it was getting smaller, but she ignored it.

Suddenly she was hit with new smells. _Dozens_ of them. There was still a massive amount of fear in the room, but now other smells mixed with it. Confusion… pain… fatigue… other emotions that she'd never smelled before, yet she knew exactly what they were.

A ripping sound pulled her attention back to herself. Her tunic had become torn and fallen off. No matter, it was just in the way. The white masks were scared of her now, but that didn't matter much, either.

Power rippled through her arms and legs. Strength like she'd never known before. Energy, like she could run around the hills around her house all day and not get tired. And those _smells._

Her anger was now a part of her. Those who hurt Vel-vet would pay.

Cherry opened her mouth wider than she'd ever opened it before… and _**roared**_ _._

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Same Time  
Amity Stadium, Operations Room_

…

Qrow was not having a good night.

" _Hey, Shaggy…"_ the tomboy-ish girl next to him whispered, _"Can you cut me loose? I can draw their attention away…"_

"Sorry, kiddo… they took all my toys away and my nails ain't that long," he replied tiredly. He'd actually been trying to wriggle his way loose from the ropes they'd tied around his wrists, but no luck.

The girl sighed next to him, head dropping. He could just hear her mutter, _"Dammit… she's gonna_ kill _me if she finds out how badly I screwed up."_

Qrow considered the girl. Hair cut shorter than most men he knew, she wore clothes that he normally saw on bandits. She also looked like she knew her way around a fight, but that was just his first impression. "What's your name, kid?"

Light-blue eyes flashed with annoyance. "I'm not a _kid,_ and my name is Vernal." Qrow noticed that her left arm had a significant tattoo on it. A tattoo that looked a little bit… familiar…

He had no time to dwell in it, however. Adam Taurus chose that moment to barge back into the room with a strut in his step.

"Well, interloper… it's time for your big debut. I made a promise to execute a few hostages live for the world to see, and now… thanks to you, I'll be taking out _half_ of the humans here. Good work. I'm sure your superiors are very proud of you."

Qrow muttered a harsh curse or two under his breath.

"And did I mention it would be live on TV?" He had his masked head tilted like a curious child, a big shit-eating grin plastered across his face. " _Everyone_ will be able to watch your failure, live."

The arrogant man stood and turned to the back of the room where several White Fang soldiers were setting up the camera equipment. He was getting ready to broadcast.

Qrow heard Vernal muttering _his_ curses under her breath and chuckled lightly. If they both lived through this, he suspected the two of them might hit it off nicely.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _11:32 PM  
City of Vale, Warehouse District_

…

Neo wasn't quite sure _what_ to think about this situation.

She knew who the boy was from Watts' intel, so she already had a fun night planned just playing with him. And she did enjoy it – he flew further than most boys she played with, and even got back up most of the time. It helped that he was kinda cute, too.

She had no problem ignoring the buff girl that went into the warehouse after she came out, since that was part of the plan. Emerald could take care of _that_ one. If not, then no major loss.

 _Now,_ though… she had nothing on this new guy.

"So…" he started saying to the boy. Neo was a bit taken by his deeper voice. It sounded nice. "You don't sound so good. Shall I …take over for a bit?"

The smaller boy, Red, wheezed his reply, "Be my guest."

The very tall man strode forward, and Neo made two quick assumptions: This guy was likely a good fighter, and he would be tough to take down.

Within a few minutes, however, she discovered that only one of those assumptions was even close to the truth.

As a fighter, this guy _sucked._ Every time he swung his big, meaty fists, he missed by a mile. He was also as slow as the old man who ran the Dust shop downtown. Barring any unfortunate accidents, this guy had no chance of beating her. Or even _catching_ her.

On the other hand, nothing Neo did seemed to phase him even a little bit. Most of her own techniques were based around turning the enemy's techniques back on them – not very useful against someone who didn't have _any_ techniques at all. Fighting him was much like trying to bring down a brick wall with a teaspoon.

For one brief moment, Neo considered attacking his eyes. For most people the eyes were a weak spot, more so with thickly built people like him. The tiny voice of instinct in the back of her head saved her life, however – she just _knew_ that the only thing waiting behind that blindfold was death. She always trusted that voice. Nothing more to do but keep chipping away at the bricks.

Oh, well. At least he was nice to look at.

…

… … …

… … … … …

This new woman was undoubtedly a Ruby. Of that, Sapphire was already convinced.

And it wasn't _just_ the looks – she'd seen enough kids with that same red hair and silver eye combination to last her the rest of her life – it was the _attitude_. This new Ruby could handle herself in a fight, regardless of who she was fighting against. Sapphire had watched a few sparring matches involving the young Ruby Rose from this world, and they moved in similar ways during combat.

On the other hand, this world's Ruby couldn't use _magic._

The woman's scythe-staff was a blur of motion, sending out various constructs that appeared to be made of solid light _._ Mercury found that he could shoot down many of them, but Sapphire quickly noticed one fatal difference – Mercury's ammo was limited.

Those three little balls from before proved to be the most resilient. They were constantly moving around the battlefield, avoiding everything the silver-haired youth sent their way. It almost seemed like they had their own personalities; Sapphire found herself smiling as she watched them taunt the boy, almost goading him into wasting more of his ammo.

Other than that were the animals. Similar to the Schnee summons but without using defeated Grimm, Sapphire watched as the woman created a large bear, a giant crab, and even a lion from solid light. She'd only ever seen a lion once, on a nature program on TV, long ago. Mercury fought hard and destroyed them all, but something about them tickled the back of Sapphire's memory…

Then the woman called forth something long and sinuous, a creature that moved like a snake but was far larger. This one shot forward at greater speed than anything before it and had the young man wrapped up and helpless in moments.

This new Ruby had done in a mere minute what Sapphire couldn't do in almost ten, and all she used was… was… _by the gods…_

"Those were _stars_ , …weren't they?" Sapphire muttered before she could stop herself.

The woman turned quickly, eyes wide with surprise. She quickly put on a wide, warm smile as she said, "I _knew_ there was something I liked about you. Yes, my magic is based around the stars. More specifically, constellations."

"Then the bear was Ursa Major, while the crab was…"

"Cancer. And the lion was Leo, of course."

"And the snake-thing?"

"Draco."

The three small balls of light with minds of their own suddenly danced around between the two women, almost like they were saying _What about us, smart-ass?_

Sapphire put a finger to her chin, thinking hard for a second, then grinned and said, "Orion's belt, …right?"

The three balls froze mid-dance. They seemed …shocked. All at once they began rapidly bobbing and weaving around Sapphire, causing the Atlesian Specialist to laugh a bit.

"Looks like _they_ like you, too. I just call them Orion. And I, as I'm sure you've guessed, am called Ruby Rose."

"Indeed," Sapphire nodded, then held out her hand. "Sapphire Schnee. Thank you for your help tonight."

The woman took the hand, giving a firm handshake. "It was my pleasure. Most people I've worked with don't manage to figure out who my children are without me explaining it first."

The elegant version of Ruby was still smiling warmly as she nudged her scythe-staff a bit. The Orion Trio instantly flew back to her and joined with the glowing stone at the top. "Where I come from I'm called a **Magister**. It's meant to be a title, but as I understand there are several individuals here with the same name, you can just call me that."

"Magister… Not a title I'm familiar with," Sapphire admitted.

"It's a long story."

"As _lovely_ as that sounds," a dry voice cut in, "…maybe you could get this freaking _thing_ off me… before it decides it's in _love_ with me…?"

Sapphire had almost forgotten about the young man, actually. Mercury was still being held by the Draco, but the two women soon noticed that the serpentine creature was being rather… _affectionate_ with him.

"Be glad she _does_ like you, Mr. Black – if she didn't, you wouldn't be able to breathe right now."

" _SHE?!_ Oh for the love of… _why is it licking me?!"_

…

… … …

… … … … …

" _Look, I don't have all the details either, okay? All I have is this file she sent me with overall stats and system layouts. I don't know why she's here, or even who sent her… but I think I can guess on the latter."_

"Designation **RTX** -517, Atlas unit 23, primary strike force. Currently assigned under 'Carmine' as temporary commander until further orders received."

" _RTX… okay, um… I am Carmine. Is Emerald… oh wait… Status of target Emerald Sustrai?"_

"Still at large. Previous attempt to terminate was unsuccessful."

" _I see. Rose?"_

"Still here."

" _I'm going to let …RTX… handle things there. If there's anything we can use from those systems you mentioned, she can probably retrieve a lot of it."_

"Current available storage space is 70.322 TB. Will that be sufficient?"

" _70?! Damn… yes, that will be sufficient. I'll supply the routing codes once you've downloaded the data I need. Your first priority is to… um… find target Emerald and restrain her. Use whatever means necessary, but do not kill her."_

"Understood, order to terminate rescinded. Capture and restrain only."

"What about me?"

" _I need you to go give Red some backup. It looks like there's someone else out there helping him, but Neo's giving them both a lot of trouble. Oh, and if you haven't thrown that spray bottle away yet, now's the time to use it… heh heh…"_

"… … …Sometimes I want to stuff you in a trash can, you know that?"

" _You wouldn't be the first."_

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _11:30 PM  
Amity Stadium, Arena_

…

Power.

More than she'd ever felt before. More than she even knew existed.

It flowed through her, filled her, threated to scour her away with its force. It was a rush of energy, of light, of _life_.

And Cinder directed it all towards a single purpose: _kill Rain._

She was naturally inclined towards fire, so that was her weapon of choice. As a Maiden, Cinder could have used any of the forces of nature for this task, but fire was her go-to, and really it was also her favorite. So _pretty._

She'd been sending wave after wave of flames at her target, a raging inferno that was starting to melt the very concrete under their feet. And still it wasn't enough. Cinder Fall wanted everything to _burn_.

Grabbing more of her new power, the ravenette began to rise into the air. She knew this was possible after her battle with the previous Fall Maiden, Amber, who had done the same thing while summoning terrible storms to defend herself. Now it was Cinder who could fly. Mwa-ha-ha.

She also felt a telltale flicking sensation around her eyes, another indicator of the Maiden's power. Amber's eyes had shone with small flares of light while she used this power. Now Cinder's eyes copied the feat, though she couldn't see them.

She raised one hand over her head and concentrated, gathering as much of the flames as she dared. Then more. More. Compress it all together, focus it. Create a miniature sun just for them. She didn't dare look up at her fireball, as it would likely have blinded her – she simply threw it at the inferno where Rain had been standing.

The massive explosion rocked the entire Stadium. It also cleared away all clouds for at least a mile.

Still hovering in the air, Cinder took a moment to catch her breath. This power was incredible, but took some time to get used to. It still raged within her, but not as strongly as before. All her senses were sharpened to a razor's edge. She saw everything, felt everything. Every detail stood out in vivid contrast to one another.

Cinder smiled as she took in the sight before her; the entire arena was burning. From one edge to the other, flames. Every seat, every walkway, every concrete paver was engulfed in the orange and red blaze. The center of the arena, where surely Rain was now a pile of ashes, was a roaring inferno that would have made any pyromaniac mess their pants. It was _beautiful_.

And yet… it was at that moment Cinder noticed something that… _didn't fit_.

Small pinpricks of blue-ish light, almost lost among the blaze, were gathering towards the center of the inferno. From all directions. Before long there were hundreds… _thousands_ … all moving to where Rain had been…

Suddenly, a blast of force erupted from the very center of the flames with a _BWOOSH._ Cinder blocked her face as she was hit with a sudden blast of _cold._

When she looked back down, her jaw dropped.

The fire hadn't been _put out_ … it had been _frozen solid._

 _NOT. POSSIBLE._

Every square inch of the arena that had once been engulfed in flames was now frozen over with flame-shaped tendrils of cold, blue-and-white ice. A fine mist already lay about the entire space, like it had been there for days. Cinder's breath would have been frosting in front of her face… if she had remembered to breathe at all.

Rain stood in a small clearing at the center of this winter wonderland. Completely unharmed. _Completely. Unharmed._

The girl looked up, silver eyes locking onto Cinder's floating form. Her eyes…

Her eyes also had small flares of light around them. The same as Amber.

"You bitch… … … _you're a Maiden?!"_

Rain floated up, mimicking Cinder as she rose to the woman's altitude, and smirked.

"I _could_ say yes…"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _11:29 PM  
Amity Stadium, Operations Room_

…

Qrow wasn't paying attention to a single word Adam Taurus said during his big broadcast. He was too focused on escaping. Vernal was watching him sidelong, trying not to look as desperate as she must have felt.

 _Damn these ropes!_ Why did they have to be so good at tying knots around here?

And then Adam turned around, sword drawn. Everything seemed to be happening in fast-forward after that.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen of the world, I will kill the first human." The faunus leveled his blade right in Qrow's face, grinning once again.

Qrow glared back at him. He really hoped his semblance might actually come in handy right about now…

The blade moved to the side… then plunged right into Vernal's gut. She didn't even have time to scream.

" _No!_ You son of a _bitch!"_

Adam looked back at the dark-haired man, his face unreadable beneath his big, fancy Grimm mask. "Why would I kill you first? She was obviously waiting for you to save her… so I saved her the trouble."

Qrow was ready to unleash a savage string of curses that could curdle milk… but he never got the chance. No sooner had Adam finished his sentence when a massive explosion shook the entire building. It must have come from above, but he would never have guessed what it was.

It caused the lights in the room to go out. The other hostages began crying and muttering in fear, but Adam was already yelling over them. Qrow ignored them all as he tried to scoot closer to the girl. There wasn't much he could do while tied up like this, but maybe…

With a loud, mechanical clicking noise, the emergency lights began to come on one-by-one. The pitch blackness slowly receded.

A new figure stood among the hostages.

No one had heard her come in, and Qrow knew why. Her great mane of black hair cascaded down her back, obscuring the view of her gothic red dress, but Qrow already knew who it was. Her full-face mask hid her expression, but Qrow could tell from her body language how she was feeling.

He hadn't seen Raven Branwen in years, but he knew she was _pissed._

Qrow suddenly remembered Vernal's tattoo – she was one of Raven's.

The masked woman spoke with a deadly calm voice, saying, "Take the girl and get to the city." Qrow's bonds were cut by an unseen blade, probably one of her other bandits she had snuck in with her. _"Now."_

He took less than a moment to confirm that Vernal, while still bleeding out, was not dead yet. "Leave one of your portals open so I can get the _others_ out of here, and I will."

She didn't respond, but instead moved the fingers of one hand almost imperceptibly. More noises came from behind him as Qrow watched as not one but _three_ other bandits made their way through the crowd of hostages, cutting ropes and helping them to their feet.

As Qrow picked up Vernal's body, Raven warned, "If she doesn't make it, it'll be your _head,_ brother."

"Nice to see you, too."

The bandits worked fast, he'd give them that much. By the time he finished bantering with Raven, Qrow and Vernal were the last ones left. He took one last look at Adam, a man who suddenly found himself no longer in control of his surroundings, and felt a touch of pity for the man.

To his knowledge, Qrow was ready to walk away from the sword fight of the century. He knew a bit about what Adam could do, and all too well what Raven could do… people would pay good money to watch _that._

Pity he would have to miss it.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _11:40 PM  
City of Vale, Warehouse District_

…

Thunder had been rumbling around the Stadium for awhile now, but Neo really couldn't care less about that. All she wanted to do was _kill_ this new girl.

But she couldn't. She wanted to scream.

Neo was fully ready and willing to entertain the two boys for as long as she needed to. They certainly couldn't match her skills, and playing with them was part of her mission after all. Hell, she was starting to enjoy herself again.

But then that damned dyke had arrived, claiming she was there for backup or some shit. Neo instantly hated her. She'd always had issues with butch girls like her, but for some reason this girl really got under her skin.

At first Neo was just being polite, almost mocking, as she waited on this Rose girl to get herself ready to die. A tiny part of her mind was flattered that the dyke thought she was worth putting perfume on for, but Neo would not be taken in by smells. She would _die_ before she let a woman hit on her.

One attack. That's all she managed to land.

As Neo landed lightly on her feet following that attack, her knees wobbled. She stared down at them in disbelief. Her knees _never_ wobbled. _Ever._

And then she looked back at the girl… and would have screamed if her voice worked.

For just a moment, Neo thought the girl was… absolutely _gorgeous._

Anger began to rise within the pink-and-brown girl for the first time in years. Anger that someone _female_ had gotten such a reaction out of her. She liked _men,_ goddammit! This girl had to die. _Now._

She launched herself into another attack, this one much more aggressive than the last. She ended up locking her legs around Rose's head, ready to flip backwards and send the dyke flying into a wall. It would have snapped the fool girl's neck and ended this stupid battle.

But then she froze as a terrifying thought entered her head, completely against her will: Neo suddenly wanted to shift her position ever so slightly… then simply let the girl… _enjoy the view_ … oh _gods, NO…!_

Neo jumped away, her attack left unfinished, as she very nearly ran away. She ended up further than she wanted to be, breathing hard and glaring daggers at the dyke. Her opponent had the gall to look shocked. The boy stood behind her looking very confused. The big man simply stood there, looking at nothing.

The fresh air helped Neo clear her head a bit, and suddenly a thought hit her. _That perfume!_ It had to be some kind of chemical weapon, something made to confuse. To corrupt. A love potion of some kind? Neo hadn't heard anything about _that_. She hadn't noticed any odd smell, but still…

Anger soon became rage. The short girl stood at the edge of their battlefield, fists trembling as her desire to kill this girl warred with her desire to keep from catching 'the gay'… but her orders had been clear. She was _not_ allowed to abandon the fight.

Maybe if she held her breath? Worth a shot.

Neo drew her sword. Rose took a ready stance with a larger version of that red kid's oversized gardening tool. Neo drew in a deep breath, held it, then ran forward.

To her credit, Neo lasted longer than she expected on one breath. The two of them exchanged blows rapidly, most of them blocked by the big red weapon. She gritted her teeth, frustration showing. This kid was better than she looked.

Suddenly Neo's legs gave out. She'd breathed in again. _DAMMIT!_

All her strength had abandoned her, much to Neo's agitation. She could barely scooch backwards for more than a few feet. She really tried not to look up, she _really_ did… but couldn't stop herself. She was practically panting at this point.

Rose looked like a _goddess._

Neo's emotions were in a complete jumble. Bitter tears leaked from her eyes while a pleasant warmth grew in her lower regions. Fear and anger grew in her mind while her heart began beating hard, hope growing that maybe she'd get to come closer…

Rose put a finger to her earpiece and said, "What…? Oh, it's you… yes, it worked just like you said it would… … … well, she's practically _drooling_ at my feet… no, she's still awake…"

That _voice…_ why had Neo never been allowed to hear such angelic, melodic tones before? She wanted to find a spoon and dig her own eardrums out. She wanted to reach down and satisfy this growing warmth. She _really_ wanted to scream.

"You want me to _WHAT?!_ … … … … …Carmine, I swear you will pay _dearly_ for making me do this…"

The girl, the _goddess_ , knelt before her. Neo's heart surged, a traitorous smile growing on her face. More bitter tears fell from her eyes.

 _No… not like this… not my first…!_

But she wanted it.

 _Not with a girl, please! I'd rather have… him…_

She wanted it.

Two strong hands took Neo by the face as the goddess leaned close. Her breath tickled the girl's nose. Neo's heart was beating a mile a minute.

All of a sudden, the goddess… changed. The face that was leaning towards Neo was now that of a ginger-haired man with a black bowler cap and too much eye makeup.

Neo's eyes went wide as her smile became genuine. She no longer minded the kiss that followed.

Blackness came soon after.

…

… … …

… … … … …

The fight was over, and Red stared in stunned silence as Rose held an unconscious and twitching Neopolitan. The tiny girl also had a goofy grin on her face. Rose, the girl who had lost to him more than once during their sparring last week, had won.

The _hell…?_

Movement caught Red's attention: the newcomer was scratching the back of his head in a very Ruby-like gesture. Red said, "I forgot to ask this earlier, but… who the hell are you, anyway?"

The man took it all in stride. "The name's **Garnett** Rose. And, um… sorry I wasn't much help."

"Don't sweat it, man, you kept me from dying. That's plenty of help in my book."

Shoulders that probably didn't fit through most doors gave a shrug. "If you say so." His blindfolded head turned this way and that, almost like he was listening to the wind or something.

After briefly introducing themselves, Red and Rose gave each other a look of confusion. "So …what should I do with her?" Rose asked, indicating the still twitching girl in her arms.

Red mirrored Garnett's head scratch. "Honestly? I say we just tie her up and leave her with the General. We have other things to do tonight."

Garnett held out his hands, offering, "I can handle her, if you want…"

Both Rose and Red looked at his hands, then up at his blindfold. That offer seemed a bit hard to swallow. Red lifted one eyebrow, wondering just what he meant by 'handle'…

He caught the reaction, somehow. The big man raised both hands in a surrender pose, pleading, "Just tryin' to help."

"Thanks, but I've got this," Rose said as she set the girl on the sidewalk. Neo licked her lips, smiling all the wider as she settled down.

Red remembered that kiss, muttering, "Rose makes smol girls gay…"

" _I do not!"_ Silver eyes flashed with irritation. She then glanced down at her charge, her brow furrowing with concern. "I didn't… I didn't actually make her gay… did I?"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Same Time  
Beacon Academy Dormitories, Lobby_

…

Velvet was no longer sure this _wasn't_ all just a fever dream.

The White Fang had attacked the school. She'd been shot in the arm with a real bullet. And little Cherry was no longer… _little._

It had been a hard fight, not the least because no one expected to be fighting in their own backyard (so to speak). The shot that got through was really her own fault – she hadn't fortified her Aura yet, and she'd been sniped.

Cherry showing up, though… _that_ was when she started to get scared. It didn't help that Coco and the others were too mad about her injury to break off the assault, but they really should have noticed the second group coming from the side.

But then the little one began to _grow_. That tunic she wore didn't stand a chance.

Her little arms and legs began to stretch first, quickly getting much thicker and sprouting reddish-brown fur. Her ears and tail merely became larger and took on a different pattern of color on the fur. Cherry's back was turned, so Velvet couldn't see what was happening to the girl's face, but based on the sound of that roar, it couldn't have been pretty.

Cherry had dashed away once her growth had finished. Minutes later, she was back beside Velvet with bloodstained claws on her long fingers. The faunus could now see the girl's face – it closely resembled the head of a lion or panther. Long snout, wide nostrils, and gleaming white fangs.

The girl's silver eyes had been replaced with two blazing red orbs. Velvet shuddered as she looked into them.

Yet for all the newfound fierce looks, this beast was still Cherry on the inside; she was down on the floor next to the faunus, sniffing her injury much like the tiny catgirl would have done. It also gave a curious growl, deep and rumbling, like a big cat trying to sound innocent.

In spite of herself, Velvet reached forward with a slightly shaky hand, holding her fear in check, and began scratching the space between the ears.

The reaction was immediate: the eyes closed and the purring began, sounding like a gigantic bumblebee buzzing around inside a cave.

Velvet grinned, almost chuckling at how cute this big beast was acting, when she caught sight of Coco and the others hiding around a corner just behind it. They were clearly scared of the beast, and she couldn't blame them. If she hadn't watched Cherry change right in front of her, she would have been standing right next to them.

All at once Cherry's head shot up, her ears pointed straight up on her head. She was gazing out towards the town with laser intensity. She'd heard something. The big head swung back down and gave Velvet a quick sniff, then nodded as it decided Velvet was fine.

Then, in a startling display of affection, the beast touched her wide nose to Velvet's forehead very gently. The rabbit faunus blushed a bit. Cherry then stood and ran out the destroyed front of the building, loping forward with a gait that carried her quite far. She was out of sight within moments.

The tension in the room was all that had been holding the rest of team CFVY up, apparently, because as soon as Cherry was gone they all simply fell over. Much to Velvet's surprise, Jaune and team JNPR was right behind them.

"Are you alright?" The blonde first-year didn't look too roughed up, but his voice betrayed his worry. "We saw that big… _thing_ … did it hurt you? Where is it?"

"I'm fine, you nit," Velvet snapped. She didn't like them calling Cherry a 'thing.' It bugged her. " _She_ stayed around to protect me, but she just now ran outside. I think she was heading for the city. If we hurry, we might be able to catch up with her…"

"Out of the question, Miss Scarlatina."

Everyone in the room started as none other than Professor Ozpin himself walked out among them. He walked with his cane as usual, but his ever-present mug of coffee was suspiciously absent. Not a single thread was out of place on his suit, but Velvet suspected that his role in tonight's events was not as minor as he would have claimed.

"No one is to abandon their duty right now. There are numerous injuries among the teams that remained, but I thank the gods no one is dead. The battle outside these gates is being handled by those who are already fighting – none here will be needed."

"But the little one…"

"She can take care of herself. I know how much she means to you, believe me… but this is not a battle you can help her with. It is her destiny, not yours."

Ozpin took a deep breath, then said, "Our duty here has changed – we need to help evacuate the city. We need to get as many people out as we can. Shelters, the few areas left undamaged here, any place we can use is to be made into a temporary sanctuary.

"The Creatures of Grimm are coming."

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Same Time  
City of Vale, Downtown Area – Atlas Military Command Center_

…

" _And that's the situation, General Ironwood. Rain hasn't contacted me yet, so she hasn't given me an update on her situation, nor has she explained where and how she acquired these new fighters."_

"Understood. Have you heard Penny's report yet?"

" _Just a few minutes ago. She sounded really upset."_

"Once she learned that the circuit she accidentally destroyed was the power control chip for a life-support system, she quickly assumed that someone's life was as stake. When she couldn't rebuild the circuit fast enough, she received the 'system failure' message…"

"… _And she knew someone had likely died because of it. She's a clever girl, isn't she?"_

"Sometimes too much so… She's receiving maintenance back at base, as well as having her sensors checked out. Doctor Merlot is also providing emotional support… something she really needs right now."

" _According to my logs here, she was dealing with Emerald Sustrai. That means her sensory equipment is fine. Emerald has a tendency to …make people see things that aren't there."_

"Hallucinations? That worked on _Penny?"_

" _Based on the data I've compiled, her semblance works by manipulating her victim's Aura itself, forcing it to send false signals to the brain. Penny might be artificial, but she does have an Aura of her own – I believe that's why it worked."_

"Incredible…"

" _I also finished looking into that thing you asked about before… and I'll send a runner with the info written down, to make sure it doesn't get hacked."_

"Much appreciated. Thank you, Carmine."

…

Less than five minutes later, the runner arrived. Or rather, runners. And they didn't look like they were only there to deliver a message.

"General Ironwood, sir," Ruby Rose of team RWBY addressed him, "We are here to help." All four teens had cleaned themselves up and appeared ready to wage war.

The older man smiled in spite of himself. Had he been this eager to fight at their age?

"Unfortunately, there isn't much left to help with. Our forces have taken most of the enemy's supplies and officers, so it's only a matter of time before we're finished here."

The short redhead appeared… confused. "We know _that_ much, but… didn't Carmine tell you?"

Now James was the confused one. "Tell me _what?"_

As if in response to his question, a nearby screen went to fuzz and was forcibly replaced with a video image (no doubt curtesy of Carmine the Master Hacker). The picture was a bit fuzzy, but there was no denying what the great mass of black shapes with white faces and blood-red eyes was supposed to be.

Creatures of Grimm. More than he'd ever seen in one place.

Moving quickly, Ironwood went to a console himself and punched in the program intended to alert the command tent in case of Grimm approach. It had been disabled, against his _direct_ orders. Turning it back on, he brought up the map of the city…

And his jaw dropped to the floor.

The city was _completely surrounded by Grimm._ There were _thousands_ of dots.

"I was _hoping_ to slay a few Grimm tonight," Yang Xiao Long muttered ominously from behind him. She slammed one fist into her open hand, her face a thunderhead.

"I just hope we can hold out," Blake Belladonna said quietly. She absently reached up and adjusted the large bow atop her head.

"Well this _is_ what we trained for," Weiss Schnee said with a huff. Her immaculate appearance was only slightly marred by the small scar over her eye, but Ironwood was one of the only people who regularly noticed it.

"But it's not just us, guys. Don't forget who we brought here!" Ruby Rose smiled brightly… although Ironwood thought he saw a hint of fatigue beneath it. These kids had already been through a lot tonight, and now they were ready for more?

And then there was what she said… "I had heard there were a few more of you all that appeared. I assume they're outside?"

The four teens shared a look that James could not read. "They're outside, but…" Ruby started saying, "…there's more than a _few…"_

"…?"

The three newcomers were, indeed, outside waiting for him… but there were more than three. As James looked over the …crowd… before him, he found himself completely and utterly speechless for the first time in his life.

Men and women, tall and short, old and young, armor and clothes, swords and guns, flying and walking… it looked like all walks of life were represented with the army before him. No two were more than a little similar.

And every blasted one of them had the exact same shade of dark red hair and silver eyes.

"We counted them as we arrived," Ruby said as she walked up next to him. Her voice held a decent amount of awe. "We confirmed _ninety-three."_

Ironwood did some quick math and reached a new number – with all of the current redheads added together, that made a nice even 100.

One hundred Ruby Roses.

Against the single largest assault of Grimm in human history.

Sure. Why not? What could go wrong with that?

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 18:** _  
_ **The Storm Breaks**

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **A/N: Tune in next time as I bring you:** _ **The Battle of 100 Rubys.**_ **I told you it would be big. And no, I didn't sit down and create 100 unique OCs – most of them will be blatant parodies that will remain unnamed to avoid any copyright issues. Because it's more fun that way. :P**

 **In future chapters, I will be bringing in some details that the canon story either skipped or simply hasn't confirmed yet (such as a few semblances and weapons). This means a few characters might not coincide with their canon counterparts. I'm adding this note now, before I get myself in trouble with the purists who actually get this far. The main example here is my Emerald – I don't think her canon semblance was that specific, but it works for this story. Another big one is Summer Rose – at this point, we know next to** _ **nothing**_ **about her, combat-wise. I'll be starting her off with a clean slate… heh heh…**

 **While I'm thinking about it, I want to give a shout out to all the readers who've been keeping up with this story. You guys rock! Also thanks to everyone who is still joining us on this roller coaster ride of epic proportions, welcome!**

 **For those who simply haven't bothered to** _ **un-**_ **follow this thing, um… thanks? At least I haven't driven you away yet…**

 **=^w^=**


	19. The Battle of 100 Rubys

**Author's Note: Just a reminder – unless the individual Ruby has already been named and/or introduced, they will be little more than** _ **blatant parodies.**_ **You'll see what I mean.**

 **(That means no** _ **Henceforward**_ **Ruby, sorry… but if someone could be kind enough to point me towards an online version of the comic, she** _ **might**_ **just appear later in the story…)**

 **Most of the events that occur here take place within the span of about 3 hours – and since it's basically a war, lots of things will be happening at the same time. In other words, most of the battle scenes will seem to happen in a random order. Enjoy! :)**

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _1:50 AM, Sunday  
City of Vale, Warehouse District, Unit 117_

 _(Early Morning of Day 13)_

…

Roman Torchwick was in trouble again.

Just like old times.

Once his primary role in Plan B was finished, Roman felt both privileged and insulted that he was kept holed up in the gang's 'backup' storehouse. Most of the authorities didn't know about this one. And in case they _did_ find it, Cinder was oh-so-gracious enough to leave him two squads of White Fang as defense. Or a distraction, as _he_ would have called them.

As a bonus for doing so well, he was allowed to keep that one big White Fang lieutenant with him… that one with the chainsaw, Roman never did learn his name. He just called the guy Big Mask.

Much to his great irritation, Roman's remote position afforded him a _wonderful_ amount of access to updates. In other words, he had no idea everyone else had gone down until about an hour ago. And now it was panic time.

"Priority cases first, those are the _big_ ones, remember?" He didn't bother hiding how upset he was as he snapped at the various soldiers moving boxes into his waiting airship. "If we have time, _then_ we take the small boxes. Keep things _organized_ , for the love of-…"

 _CRASH!_

Roman threw his cane on the ground in frustration at yet _another_ interruption. Something had crashed through the upper windows and landed in the open area at the center of the warehouse. Something red.

Something… some _one…_ that he knew all too well.

And just like that, Roman's mood lightened considerably.

The red kid groaned as she stood, groggily shaking the shards of glass from her cloak. Her oversized gardening tool had landed nearby, but she deftly grabbed it and folded it up. Still blessedly clueless, the kid gazed up at the window she'd fallen through, then down at the door mumbling to herself.

How clueless can you _get?_

" _So_ …" Roman called suddenly, "…isn't it a bit past your bedtime, Red?"

His voice might as well have been a gunshot for the way she reacted. She jerked so hard she almost fell over, then whipped around and quickly spotted Roman amidst the darkness. Her silvery eyes nearly popped out of her head, a look that threatened to give the ginger-haired man a severe case of the giggles.

This was helped by the fact that the White Fang soldiers had already blocked all the exits. That damned kid had nowhere to go.

With a quick kick of his foot, Roman's cane shot back up to it's master's waiting hand. He gave it a twirl, then laughed as he said, "You know, I was just wondering what I could do to relieve some of this … _stress_ …" He growled the last word.

The red kid gulped hard, then finally pulled her gardening tool out and got it ready. She did _not_ look thrilled. It was pretty clear she had been knocked here completely against her will – and now she was in _way_ over her head.

"You guys at the doors, keep an eye out – _she_ stays inside. The rest of you, finish loading up. It's time for me to have some… _fun._ "

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 19:** _  
_ **The Battle of 100 Rubys**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _11:45 PM – 2:30 AM, Saturday – Sunday  
Various Locations Around The City of Vale_

…

The layout was simple, but effective: The bulk of the enemy forces was coming from both north and south equally, while a smaller force approached from the mountains to the east. Divide the defenses up so that most of the Ruby Army took the north and south fields, the rest take the east and defend the mountains.

The city would not be left defenseless, however. A smaller contingent with strong ranged capabilities would be left within city limits to pick off anything that got past the outer defenses.

Carmine would coordinate the smaller groups to hit the bulk of the enemy forces. Ironwood would remain in command of the ground forces and the evacuation, continuing his defense of the city.

Go time. All or nothing. In essence, this was humanity's last stand against the oncoming tide of darkness.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Yang was in her element: Destruction.

She had been firing Ember Celica so much that she was sure it was starting to overheat, and she'd designed it to withstand a _lot_ of use. Well, Ruby did most of the designing… but that was beside the point. A good-sized trail of rapidly vaporizing Grimm lay behind her.

But there was still plenty more to go. According to what she overheard Carmine saying, there were _thousands_ of Grimm out in force tonight. Lots of targets.

It would never be enough to work out her emotions.

Losing Ku still hurt too much.

In one quick motion, Yang tugged two more strips of ammo from her belt and tossed them up, deftly reloading in a single move. She was ready to go again when…

"Hey, you…"

She barely stopped her fist from breaking Red's face. He jerked back just as she stopped, obviously not expecting the move.

Her eyes continued to blaze with a crimson light as she growled, "If I were you… I'd steer clear of… _me_ … until this is over…"

His eyes held a look of understanding as he simply said, "…Ku?"

Yang could only nod. She knew that if she opened her mouth, vile curses would simply spill out onto the ground.

"I'll be nearby if you feel like talking later," he said. It was clear he was trying to diffuse whatever had her emotions in a twisted knot, but that was more than he could handle right now.

Yang didn't want to deal with _any_ of these other Rubys, not tonight. Any other time she would be joking and playing like normal, but right now… it still hurt too much.

With a feral yell, Yang Xiao Long ran forward into an oncoming pack of Beowulves. They never knew what hit them.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Carmine sat back in her chair and took a breath.

On the screen in front of her was a digital layout of the entire city. There were thousands of colored dots all over the outside of the border, most of them representing Grimm. The rest were the so-called Ruby Army.

She _tried_ not to think about where Rain had gotten them all. Or how. The implications alone threatened to drive her crazy.

Thinking back to the way Ruby and the others reacted when they'd learned about the Grimm still made Carmine smile. They _insisted_ on helping. They were so honest with their feelings, so direct… so innocent. It was hard to believe she had once been that way, herself.

… … …

 _As the others made their way out to get cleaned up, Ruby stayed behind. She was giving Carmine's chair a look._

" _Ah… I never did show you, did I?" Carmine nodded in understanding. She gave a sharp whistle and held out her hand. The chair rapidly flowed over to her and morphed into her own Omega Rose, the bigger and meaner-looking variation of Crescent Rose._

 _Ruby's eyes were sparkling brightly. She held out one hand, asking, "…May I?"_

 _Carmine chuckled, "Certainly," as she handed over the weapon._

 _But then something odd occurred. As soon as Ruby's hand made contact with Omega's smooth, glassy surface, the weapon changed into the original Crescent Rose. There was_ no _delay._

 _Carmine frowned. He wasn't supposed to do that._

" _This is …incredible. It feels just like Crescent Rose." Ruby swung the all-black version of her sweetheart around, being careful not to hit anything. It moved naturally, like it belonged in her hand._

 _The scientist wiggled her fingers, a signal for Omega to come back to her. Nothing happened. Strange._

 _She raised one hand and snapped her fingers. That did the trick – Omega flowed back over to Carmine's hand and re-formed Omega Rose._

 _Ruby's eyes were still sparkling. "Now I see why the guys were so excited after they saw it. So cool!"_

 _Carmine forced herself to smile again, saying, "Yeah, it's… it's cool. You should get going, kiddo."_

 _As Ruby left, Carmine gazed down at the still form of Omega in her hand. Why had it disobeyed her?_

… … …

Blinking, an idea came to Carmine: Omega had never made physical contact with any of the other Rubys until that moment. It was possible that it would have done the same thing if one of the others had grabbed it. The nanomachine cluster _was_ programmed to obey Ruby Rose's brainwaves after all. That had to be it.

Cricking her neck, the resident Mad Scientist leaned forward and got back to work keeping the battle organized. It was going to be a long night.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

He had seen some odd weapons tonight. Mostly scythes, but there were plenty of swords and good old-fashioned guns to go around. He tried not to think about that one kid carrying a gigantic goddamn _key_ and hitting the Grimm with it. Too strange.

Swords were more his speed. Especially his broadsword.

There was nothing quite as satisfying as bringing down one of these monsters with a good thrust to the face. The feel of cold hard steel cutting into black flesh and bony mask, …it was exhilarating.

Almost as good as the Quickening. Almost.

Too bad there weren't any other Immortals here tonight. He could use the company.

As he brought another creature down, he spotted another red-haired swordsman off to one side. No, …it was another woman. There were certainly a lot of those out here. She was dressed like a man, though. Her most distinctive feature was a cross-shaped scar on her cheek.

She stowed her curved, single-edged sword in it's sheath, then met his eyes. A spark of understanding passed between them. They nodded to each other wordlessly, two warriors on the field of battle.

They returned to battle moments later, but he felt a bit better now. Suddenly it wasn't quite so lonely out here anymore.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

The warrior took another bear-creature in the throat with a single thrust. Such beasts were no challenge, but their numbers were proving to be a threat. She pulled it free, then let the beast fall to the ground, joining it's fallen brethren.

Battles such as this one were the lifeblood of Diana and her people. Warriors born, all of them. Yet not even Hades himself could have produced such monsters as these… Grimm, they were called? An apt name.

Hefting her shield, the warrior charged forward into another group of them. They struck at her, but their claws were no match for the steel of the gods. Her blade struck down many more before she paused to draw breath.

She considered the golden lasso at her side, but thought otherwise. If she faced one of those flying creatures, maybe then. Right now it was not needed.

A commotion drew her attention as she found another red-haired young woman fighting her way through more of the creatures. This one stood out, however, because the blade she carried seemed made of _pure light_. Diana stared at it in awe.

The newcomer took Diana in at a glance, then shook her head and muttered, "Strangest damn planet I've ever seen." She then pointed a finger at the great, golden stinger of another beast and gestured to the side. The stinger obeyed, tearing itself from it's mount and flying away, leaving the beast below shrieking in pain. The blade of light ended it's misery shortly after.

Though her form was that of an amateur, the girl's spirit was certainly of a warrior. Diana laughed. It seemed she was in good company after all.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

The gunslinger was one of the few assigned to patrol the rooftops of the city. She was tasked with taking out any fliers that decided to simply pass the rest of the defenders by way of the sky.

 _Flying_ monsters. Eh, no worse than back home.

She fired sparingly, every round striking her target. Every shot bringing down another of those godforsaken things. She kept careful count of her shells, too. No sense in running out in the middle of a firefight. Once was enough.

"I do not aim with my hand," she muttered her vows as she reloaded the chambers of both revolvers, "She who aims with her hand has forgotten the face of her father." Her fingers did their reloading trick and all 12 rounds were loaded in less than three seconds. Her eyes were hard and glaring into the night sky. More on the way.

"I aim with my eye." The revolvers came up again, sandalwood grips fitted to her palms, and began firing.

.. _  
_… … … _  
_…

Cherry lunged over another building, landing right on top of another black monster. She easily ripped it's head off.

There were lots of these things around, none of them with any smell save death itself. They stank. Easy to find. But she was looking for another smell.

Ruby. Not the other ones, or even her friends – Ruby herself.

When Cherry first came out to the city, she had run into Ruby. Literally. The girl was jumping between buildings as Cherry's fully-transformed size knocked her flying. Now Cherry was trying to find where she went.

She really liked Ruby. Even though she looked and smelled like the other Rubys, Cherry felt… _safe_ with her. She was afraid she might have hurt the girl. Cherry wanted to find her. She couldn't sleep in anyone else's lap like she could Ruby's.

Another dozen or so black monsters waited down the road. Cherry roared again, tearing into them.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Ruby Rose, Magister of Light, was having a surprising amount of trouble. It wasn't that the Creatures of Grimm were hard to kill – they actually weren't – it was the fact that there were so many of them. She could tell that, given enough training, she could become much more proficient at slaying the beasts, but that was precisely the problem.

In her own world, there were no Grimm. At all. The Four Maidens had wiped them all out long before she was even born. As such, the woman was not accustomed to this type of battle. She had not trained for this.

By no means was she giving up, of course. She simply needed bigger guns.

With a wave of her staff, she produced two massive dog-like constructs – Canis Major and Canis Minor. She then created two identical female archers – the Gemini. Finally, she created the largest male warrior she could, the one and only Hercules. "Go, my children," she said.

They all went forth and laid waste to the Creatures of Grimm. Her smile faded slightly at the sight.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Blake kept to the trees.

Guerrilla warfare was nothing new to the faunus – it was how she survived her first years of life among the White Fang, after all. Except that she'd never done anything on this scale before. She'd _never_ seen so many Grimm in one place.

Thankfully she had a lot of good help. At least a full dozen of the Ruby army had been sent with her to secure the Emerald Forest. And they were good; four of them had some form of longbow, and two others were up in the trees like Blake was. They'd felled at least a hundred of the beasts in the first hour alone.

Another large group of Grimm were crashing through, this one mostly those Boarbatusk things. Blake scanned the nearby trees for help and found another Ruby, this one rather… obvious. She wore some kind of orange and blue jumpsuit. Not much good for camouflage.

Blake tried to use hand signals to tell this Ruby to cause a distraction and run the other way so they could surround the group, and it seemed to work. The Ruby nodded and grinned… but then she simply jumped down and landed _right in front of them!_ Blake cursed under her breath and got ready to jump down and pull that idiot-

" _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

With a muffled explosion and a burst of smoke, Blake was suddenly looking at… _hundreds of jumpsuited Rubys._ What the actual _crap…?!_

And they weren't illusions – all of the clones jumped in and completely overwhelmed the Grimm in less than a minute. Once done, they all _poofed_ away, leaving just one with the biggest, cheesiest grin on her face. Blake sighed, but couldn't stop herself from smiling as well.

This night was promising to be _full_ of surprises.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

[Miss Stark?]

"What is it, K.L.I.N.E.?"

[A large group of tailed creatures is approaching our position from the west]

"I see them, thank you."

She fired her repulsors to the west, hitting quite a few things that looked like monster scorpions. Yuck. She hated bugs. Thankfully she knew where to aim by now.

She glanced at her heads-up display, taking in the state of her armor – integrity was down by only 3%, power was still hanging around 94%, and she still looked as good as ever. And why not? Crescent Rose Mark-20 was a sight to behold, no matter what world you were from.

The head of the Stark family shot herself forward, heading for another group of the wolf-type creatures. There was one of the 'Ruby Army' there who looked like she needed help. A few missiles from her shoulder-mount took out the closest creatures.

"Huh… that armor's a bit outdated, isn't it?" She couldn't help but smile at the girl before her – parts of a beat-up set of medieval armor, a rugged sword in her hand, and a beaten metal helmet with two curved horns on either side. She looked like a reject from an old-timey video game.

The knight wanna-be looked at Stark and gave a sneer. She then turned back to one oncoming group of creatures, opened her mouth, …and _shouted._

" _Fus… Ro… DAH!"_

The last word came out as an _explosion._ There was no other word for it. The force of it was enough to blow almost a dozen of the creatures away like they were bits of trash.

If Stark hadn't been wearing a full-head helmet, her jaw would have dropped to the ground.

"The armor's only as good as the warrior inside it," the shouting knight observed as she trotted off to go annihilate more beasts.

"K.L.I.N.E…? Set a reminder for me. _'Never accept an offer from an inter-dimensional look-alike ever again'_ …okay?"

[Reminder has been recorded.]

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Weiss was glad she wasn't alone tonight. Sapphire had agreed to accompany her.

She had been sent east to help guard that side from the oncoming force. The two Schnees were standing just past the edge of Forever Fall, one of Weiss' favorite locations in Vale. From here it was open plains all the way to the edge of the mountains.

Of course, they were _far_ from alone. Almost two dozen of the Ruby Army had come this way with them to help. But no matter how many there were, Weiss was _not_ simply going to let them do all the work.

"Shall we?" Sapphire asked from beside her. The woman was grinning slightly.

Weiss nodded, then began to concentrate. Sapphire mirrored the effort. Both women suddenly had large glyphs floating in the air behind them in the shape of the Schnee family crest – a large snowflake.

Two large, ethereal knights appeared, but they were _not_ the same. Weiss' knight was tall and thin, and wielded a long sword. Sapphire's knight was shorter and built like a tank, and wielded a massive hammer. Weiss regarded the new knight with a raised eyebrow.

Both knights glanced at each other, then knocked their weapons together companionably. Then they charged into battle with aplomb.

Both Weiss and Sapphire, together, muttered, "Praise the sun…" before heading into battle themselves.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Unit RTX-517 proceeded north as ordered. She was to help secure the northern border of the Emerald Forest and hold it until further orders.

Thus far there had been no trouble with that. The Grimm accosted her frequently, but she fended them off. Other red-haired warriors often came to assist or check if she was okay, then simply left again.

The presence of these fighters gave her pause. So many that looked like her. So many that turned out so… different than she did. Could she have become like them if she hadn't gone with Penny back then…?

No, there was no point to such thoughts. Better that she stay focused.

Capturing Emerald Sustrai proved to be a challenge, but not impossible. Once captured, RTX downloaded the database from their stolen hard drives and gave them a quick analysis. That was when something stuck out at her from the data – Penny's name.

It took 2.3 minutes of questioning before Emerald Sustrai confessed to her actions regarding Penny.

Her punishment took 1.7 seconds.

RTX's official report was that Emerald escaped capture; Carmine then had her relocate to the northern battlegrounds, as mentioned earlier.

No one would find Emerald Sustrai's body. She made sure of that.

Nobody hurts Penny.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Red kept a wary eye on Yang while he fought. He didn't want her to get too far out of sight. He was genuinely worried about her.

The two of them had really bonded over these few weeks, and Red hated to see her suffer so much. Losing Ku had shaken everyone up (as far as he knew), but none more than Yang.

On the plus side, she had plenty of punching bags to work her stress out on.

Speaking of which, Red lightly dodged a Deathstalker tail before landing a punch to it's multi-eyed face. It shrank back after that.

There were still so many Grimm. Would this ever end?

All at once, something started to happen just to Red's right. Another massive group of Grimm, like a seething lake of pitch, looked …trapped by something. Red's earpiece buzzed with Carmine's frantic pleas of _"Inverse! What do you think you're doing? I said to give me a few minutes before you-…"_

Red's arms broke out in goosebumps. Someone was channeling a lot of power nearby, and it only took him a moment to find it.

Another Ruby, this one with long, flowing hair and two oversized armor pieces on her shoulders, stood on a nearby hillside looking over the trapped Grimm. She had a thick black aura of energy surrounding her. Red couldn't make out everything she was chanting, but what he did hear was enough to make him worry.

"… _Buried in the flow of time  
In thy great name,  
I hereby pledge myself to darkness…"_

Red glanced around rapidly, and found to his relief that Carmine's pleas had reached the nearby Rubys – all were fleeing fast.

That left only Yang, who apparently didn't hear it. Red shot himself forward without thinking, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. The blonde yelped a bit as he grabbed her by the waist, but there was no time to waste.

"… _Merge thy power and mine  
To grant destruction equally to all!"_

Yang finally got the hint, shooting her own weapon backwards in time with his. They barely heard the final words of the spell, since that was all it could have been.

 _"DRAGON SLAVE! ! !"_

Everyone on the southern battleground clearly saw the massive fireball that swept that area clean of everything. Red and Yang missed the blast by a few feet.

As the two brawlers came to a rest, Red grunted, "Remind me never to piss off _that_ Ruby."

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Garnett Rose kept himself in the corner of the northern battlegrounds, as far from the bigger group of Rubys as he could get. Less collateral damage that way.

The big man found himself fighting mostly alone (just the way he liked it) against mainly Ursai and the occasional Goliath. The big, slow enemies. Good. His 'fight' with that tiny girl proved that he still had a long way to go before he could fight quick enemies.

Before long, however, he found himself outnumbered.

"Oh, dear…" he stated sarcastically, "Whatever shall I do…? Heh."

It took all of a second for Garnett to locate the largest bulk of the Grimm, then center his face right at them. He then lifted his blindfold, but only off one eye. That was all he needed.

His vision went white. All he heard was the roar of unleased energy.

When it was over, there was still the sound of Grimm, but far fewer than there had been a moment ago.

"Next?"

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Sapphire was starting to become out of breath. That was rare.

This battle presented a unique opportunity for the Atlesian Specialist to devote herself entirely to the sword. She _could_ have opted for heavy glyph use, or even chosen to send out waves of summoned creatures, but she needed to let her feelings out through the blade. Her mentor, Qrow, would have agreed with that sentiment.

As she decapitated an Ursa with a rather flashy move, someone to her side spoke up, "I'm starting to wonder if you actually _needed_ my help earlier."

Magister Ruby was riding a large winged-horse construct. Pegasus, no doubt. "I did… but like you said, it's a long story. I'm not sure I believe it myself," Sapphire replied.

She remained on her mount as she said, "With skills like that, the young man should have been no challenge… but I understand what you mean. I, too, have issues with certain foes. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

The Schnee woman nodded. "How goes the battle?"

"Well enough. Our forces seem to be holding the advantage, but they're wearing down. I've shifted my focus to support. Here…"

With a wave of her scythe-staff, the Magister produced an odd sight: a tall construct that resembled a woman with a jar. Andromeda? It then tilted the jar and something that looked like water flowed out and over the specialist. Within moments, she was fully refreshed and renewed. Aquarius, then.

"Fight well," the Magister declared as she rode Pegasus back into the sky. Sapphire smiled up at the woman – they could probably hold a _long_ discussion about the stars – before taking up her sword and plunging back into the fray.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

She stood on a high peak, watching the battle with one glimmering silver eye. She did not come to fight. She came to observe.

Two strong arms sat folded beneath her breasts. Two feet planted like oak trees in the rocky ground beneath her. The breeze ruffled her blood-red cape, but it could not have moved her, even if it churned to hurricane force.

Wind could not move a true General.

The forces were well laid and spread evenly. She gave a half-smile as she watched the two forces collide across four distinct battlefields. It was marvelous. Very well-planned. Whoever this Carmine was, she was good.

Others would find the sight boring, but not her. She loved things like this. Organized movements of troops, careful planning and coordination of battles – it was what she _lived_ for. She could tell so much about the enemy commander from the way they moved their troops that it was almost scary.

A beeping noise barely drew her attention, but she looked anyway. A message from that woman. It was time to meet again. So soon? She looked back over the field of battle once more, taking in the spectacle with her one silver eye, then turned to leave.

She raised her robotic left arm, opened the control panel with her right hand, then hit the button combination. A portal opened moments later and the woman stepped through.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Qrow took the head of a Griffon before pausing for a breath.

He stood on a rooftop near the medical tent, nearly at the heart of the city. Even with the significant defenses, the Grimm were still getting pretty far inside. There were a few other fighters helping defend the city, many of them those freakish Ruby Rose look-alikes, but Qrow still stepped up to help.

And he wasn't alone. Good 'ol James was also out in force – after about an hour of battle, the man had already claimed a hefty toll from the Grimm. Glynda Goodwitch had also stepped out to assist, mostly to defend the medical tent. She claimed that Port and Oobleck were also in the city, though in other areas. That left most of the rest of Beacon's staff back at the school, thankfully.

Qrow could have stayed in the tent, but his own brand of bad luck would have made things harder than they needed to be. Vernal was pulling through, thank the gods – Raven actually _would_ have claimed his head otherwise. Qrow made up his mind to ask that kid what their relationship was later on – anything that made his sister defend her like that was worth knowing about.

After catching his breath, Qrow turned to patrol another street when he came face-to-face with a rather odd sight.

"And, um… who the hell are _you_ supposed to be…?"

The figure in question was certainly one of the Ruby Army… but she looked like a mistake. Shorter than his own niece, wearing a plain one-piece black jumpsuit with red gloves and boots, and a simple red cape. Not even a hood. That and she looked incredibly _bored._

"Oh, me? Eh… I'm just a 'hero' for fun. Name's Lindsey," she replied glumly. The girl was sitting on a park bench, drinking from a soda can. She was practically twiddling her thumbs.

"A… _hero…_?" Qrow blinked. If ever a label didn't fit… "Then, um… why aren't you… I don't know, _helping us?"_

"The glasses girl was _really specific._ She said I was not to do _anything_ until she gave me the go-ahead. Apparently I'm only here to kill _one monster._ Can you believe that?"

Qrow pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. He was certain he hadn't been drinking today, and not _near_ enough for this bullshit. "Whatever, just… stay out of the way so you don't get hurt, okay?"

All she did was shrug before taking another swig. Qrow turned and left before he said something he'd regret.

Where do they dig these freaks up?

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Just at the edge of the southern battleground, on the edge of the city limits, another warrior gazed over the killing fields. His face was shrouded in red and black, loaded guns at his side, and twin katanas at his back. In his hands he held a piping hot chimichanga-

Wait a freaking…

"What up, homie?" he declared to the sky.

What the hell are you doing in my story, Deadp-

" _WAITAMINNIT!_ If you use my name, then you gotta mark this as a crossover story…"

Fine. I'll call you D.P. But seriously, why the hell are you here?

"Hey, _you_ left the door open twinklefingers… I just walked in to enjoy the show."

Beat it.

"I can't… not without a bit more fanservice…" *wink wink*

I could end you right now. No lie.

"You're just jealous that I'm bigger…"

…

Yang blinked as an unexplained blast rocked a small section of the city limits near where she was standing. There had been no Grimm there, so the cause was uncertain. It was enough to pull her out of her battle trance, though. She could have sworn she saw …someone flying away from the blast with his rear end on fire, screaming something like _'Maximum effort!'_

She sighed as she returned to the battle. This whole night was like a lucid dream – there was no point trying to make sense of _every_ thing.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Rose was currently pissed. Carmine didn't bother to give her time to re-apply her medicine, and she didn't bother to mention that the spray was a _concentrated version_ of her pheromones.

Even the goddamn _Grimm_ were acting funny around her, now.

Since the other Rubys all found her smell to be repulsive, Rose found herself somewhat alone on the eastern battlefield. Somewhat, in that she did find an ally in the form of a Ruby with an orange karate outfit and spikier hair than normal. She also had an odd symbol on the back of the outfit, but Rose didn't recognize it.

The kid was definitely a martial artist, though. Rose doubted even Yang could easily take _this_ one.

"You sure you're okay here? I know I don't smell that great," Rose asked between bouts. She was starting to get winded, though her friend looked to be just getting warmed up.

"Ha! That's nothing! You should smell some of the guys I hang around all day… makes you smell like a bouquet in comparison!" She seemed rather upbeat for being surrounded by monsters.

Rose considered a few comebacks to that, but decided against them all. "This is taking forever, huh?"

"Not for long, it ain't… watch _this!_ "

The martial artist put her hands together at her waist, then started to yell something. Soon, there was some sort of blue energy gathering in her palms. After a few more moments, she raised her hands and shouted even louder.

The energy shot forward like a cannon, firing a blue beam of light into the oncoming Grimm. They were blown away with relative ease.

"Oooooh-kay… um, how?"

"Lots of training with an old turtle hermit. And rice balls, can't forget those."

Rose was ready with a sarcastic reply, but it soon died on her lips. The ground had started trembling, and not because of nearby Grimm. Even the occasional Goliath didn't make this much noise.

" _That_ doesn't sound good…"

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

A warning light started flashing on the side of the monitor. Carmine paled as she saw it.

"Attention all units, attention all units. Dragon has been confirmed and is heading for the eastern battleground. Lindsey, that means you. Diana, give her a lift to the target, would you? Delta team, be ready to engage target on my mark…"

No matter _how_ certain Rain was that this 'Lindsey' weirdo could handle the Dragon Grimm, Carmine was not taking any chances. Delta team consisted of the strongest dozen or so Rubys, so they could surely take it down.

"Stark, bring a team to the west and engage a group of Goliaths that just appeared. Weiss, a flock of Nevermores has just appeared to your south, take care of them. Alpha team, report…"

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Cinder was breathing hard. Good.

Rain was not.

They had been battling for about an hour by this point, though Cinder likely felt like it had been far longer. She wasn't used to the Maiden Powers yet. She was strong, there was no denying that, but Rain had had _far_ more time to get used to it.

"To think… … _hah_ … … that you were the Winter Maiden the whole time… …" Cinder gasped during a lull in the fight, "… …She would never forgive me… … if I didn't kill you… …"

Before Rain could form a reply, her gaze turned to an unusual sight just past the floating form of the Fall Maiden. A giant Grimm, larger than anything she'd seen before. It looked a bit like a…

"Dragon," Rain breathed in awe. She had heard of it's size, but to actually _see_ it…

Cinder turned to look as well, her own eyes wide with shock, and then she started to cackle. "Ah-ha-ha! There he is! Just as she foretold! You see, bitch?! You had no chance! Summon all the armies you want, nothing can defeat that beast! _We've won!"_

Rain merely hung her head and sighed. "Why is it that every time you open your mouth, you get things wrong?"

Blazing yellow eyes glared daggers at Rain.

"The army was solely for the other Grimm. _That_ one is being handled right now…"

A tiny, almost infinitesimal speck of red could be seen hurling through the air towards the mammoth beast. It could have been a tiny bird for all it stood out. Whatever it was quickly made it's way towards the Dragon's face.

The Grimm exploded in a slow shockwave, it's entire body liquidating in a ripple that travelled all the way to the tip of it's tail.

Cinder very nearly fell from the sky.

"One punch, and done," Rain declared quietly.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Everyone on the ground had to pick their jaws back up off the floor.

What just happened? The single biggest Grimm anyone had ever seen had just… blown up? How? Why? _Who?!_

Well _she_ certainly didn't know. The most she'd ever learned before coming here was how to bend the other three elements. This was _way_ over her head.

The Creatures of Grimm were about the only thing this world had in common with her own – and they didn't seem phased by that little show at all. She quickly bent the earth beneath her feet, sending large boulders hurling into them.

Before she even had time to register what else could happen, a black _rain_ fell over most of the open battleground. Large swaths of land were suddenly covered with black …stuff. They had been right beneath that monster when it disintegrated, so maybe it was that?

Then hell itself broke loose.

The blackness spawned new Grimm. _All_ of it.

There had to be _millions_ of them now.

Before her stomach dropped to her shoes, she opened her staff into it's glider form and bent the air to quickly fly away. Numerous other red-haired warriors followed suit, pulling back to regroup.

One drew near, seemingly made out of metal. Numerous bits and moving parts gave her an organic look, but there was no doubt that she, _…it_ , was no human. She cried, "R.B. didn't sign up for _this_ crap! R.B. gettin' out of here!" The metal human then landed and… _changed._ She transformed into some sort of vehicle and rode away on two wheels.

The airbender glanced back down at the writhing sea of monstrosities and shook her head. "We need to let the rest know! They'll overwhelm us in minutes!"

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Omega rippled beneath her as Carmine blanched at the footage. Even the initial wave of Grimm had not been so …insane as this.

"Attention everyone. Attention everyone. We have an _emergency_ ," Carmine spoke over the radio, her voice close to cracking. "Anyone who can get to the eastern battlegrounds without compromising your current position, do it _now!_ Anyone who has been holding anything back up until this point, _go full out!_ We are _drastically outnumbered, people!"_

The map seemed to glow red as the new mass of Grimm displayed itself like a bloodstain. Without a miracle, Vale was doomed. Hell, the whole _world_ was screwed.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:20 AM  
City of Vale, Warehouse District – Unit 117_

…

Ruby had been beaten. There was no other way to say it.

It had been going just fine at first. She danced around him, swinging and parrying like usual. She even got close to hitting that stupid hat off his head once.

But then Roman Torchwick got one lucky hit on her leg, cutting her mobility clean in half. Everything went to crap after that.

"You know, Red, I gotta say…" The man never _did_ get her name right, even after all this time, "…we've been through a lot together. Robberies, highway battles, lots of good times. And now here we are, at the end of the road…"

Ruby was only listening with half an ear to his rambling. The man certainly loved to hear himself talk. Her mind had gone numb about five minutes ago – that was when he landed the true, final blow on her spirit.

Crescent Rose had been destroyed. She sat on the concrete floor, gazing upon the broken pieces in a state of shock.

"Things have gone rather downhill around these parts, wouldn't you say boys? Of course they have. I think it's about time to relocate… start fresh, wipe the slate clean. I hear Mistral's nice this time of year…"

He had taken an opening so wide you could have flown an airship through it, firing a shot from his cane at point blank range. It was one hit too many for her sweetheart. A single tear slid down her cheek as Ruby remembered the scene. She knew that image would haunt her for quite a while, no matter how easy it would be to rebuild her beloved weapon.

Ruby laughed a bit as she realized something – this was probably close to how Yang felt when Ku was taken from them.

"Oh boy, I think she's broken…" Roman leaned down and waved a hand in front of Ruby's face, but got no reaction. Nothing mattered to her anymore. She had lost in the most spectacular fashion.

The man in the bowler cap stood up and gave Ruby a look that was close to sympathy. "If I was just any old _bad guy_ , I would simply leave you here and be on my merry way… but hey, I'm in a good mood right now, so I'll do you a favor…"

His face grew hard as he motioned to one side, "…I'll end it quickly for you."

Roman began to walk away, a distinct strut in his step, as he passed a line of six White Fang soldiers who were quickly loading their rifles and lining up. Within moments, they were loaded… and aimed every one of their barrels right at Ruby.

With her Aura gone and her leg still injured, she was a sitting duck. With no weapon to block the shots or fire back, it was a shooting gallery.

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears to fall. Her throat tried to seize up on her, but she forced it to swallow.

This was _not_ how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to _win…_ she was one of the good guys… how could this have happened…?

 _Carmine, Sapphire, Cherry, Red, Rose, …and Rain …I'm so sorry…_

Six mechanisms clicked into place, ready to fire.

 _Yang… Blake… Weiss…_

…

… _Mom…_

…

… _I've failed you…_

…

…

A glimmer of light caught her attention. It came from behind the soldiers. She didn't notice that they no longer seemed interested in shooting her… or moving at all.

The light compressed, shrunk, focused… into the shape of a person. It floated like a ghost for a moment, phasing right through the people in it's way. A face hovered just out of focus, but she could still see that whatever this thing was, it was looking right at her.

Ruby's breath caught. She knew those eyes.

The thing… the _person_ … stopped right in front of Ruby and knelt down to the floor, putting her face level with the redhead's. The shape became more focused, and for the first time in more years than Ruby could remember, she found herself looking at a woman in a snow-white cloak and hood… a woman who meant more to her than any other human in the world…

Summer Rose. Her mother.

Ruby choked out a sob, muttering, "Mom, I… I… *hic* I lost… I let everyone… Yang… Dad… *hic* …I'm … _I'm so sorry…!"_ The tears began flowing like an open tap, hitting her wounded leg with loud splashes. She simply let them come, knowing it was all over anyway… why hold back now?

The ghostly form of her mother reached out and took Ruby into an embrace… a _warm_ embrace. She actually _felt_ those two arms encircling her, protecting her from everything that could ever harm her. On pure instinct, she hugged right back and held on tightly, wailing into her mother's shoulder.

Ruby could not have said how long they stayed like that. It could have been hours or seconds. But when Summer released her hold on Ruby, it was too soon. The face beneath that white hood was the picture of love and gentleness as she gazed into Ruby's eyes. Silver locked with silver.

Summer's mouth moved, but no sound came out. Ruby didn't need to hear the words to know what was said:

" _I am so proud of you, my little rose."_

She placed her hands over Ruby's eyes very gently.

Rather than black, Ruby's vision went fully _white_. A gentle warmth enveloped her, surrounding and penetrating the layer of pain that seemed to be drowning her. She didn't even feel the floor underneath her anymore… it was like she was floating in a white abyss, becoming one with the light.

She _felt_ , rather than saw, her mother holding her again.

The light pierced into her head with the intensity of an explosion, but there was no pain… only peace. Contentment.

Everything was going to be alright.

…

…

…

Eventually, Ruby took it upon herself to open her eyes again. She was saddened to find her mother gone, even if it was just a ghost. The world was a little darker without her smile.

But then Ruby looked around herself… and sadness soon turned into pure awe.

She could… _see!_

Details she never imagined were suddenly clear and crisp before her, as though her eyes had never fully worked before now. Colors were brighter, shapes more defined. The world was almost _alive_ with color.

As she focused, however, the walls soon faded as her vision found it's way _through_ them and into the city beyond. Past that, into the plains to the south. She saw the battle as it was happening. She saw Yang, still fighting her heart out, her eyes still a blazing crimson. Around Yang, Ruby saw a faint dark-blue light, like an Aura, and knew it for what it was – grief. Yang was still distraught over losing Ku.

Was she seeing …emotions?

Ruby turned her gaze to the east, quickly finding her way to the edge of the mountains and locking onto Weiss. The heiress was easily holding her own alongside Sapphire. They fought like old partners, or even sisters. Both Schnees had their own colored Auras, these of a bright red with orange flecks – determination. They would fight until the end.

How could she see through walls? And so far away?

Turning again, Ruby found Blake heading away from the Emerald Forest to the north. The faunus had a blue-green Aura around her, this one mixed with sparkles of gold and yellow. She was concerned about everyone else. At least none of them had been badly injured, but if the fight went on too long…

What the… what _is_ this?

Six muffled explosions pulled Ruby's attention back to her current situation… only for her to find no immediate danger. The bullets that had been fired were in no hurry – she could actually _see_ them slowly leaving the barrels, rotating lazily through the air towards her.

In fact, the bullets seemed to have thin laser lines preceding them. Ruby could follow where each one was going to go. She easily stood up and out of the way as they went by, watching them go with fascination.

The White Fang soldiers had not moved, only continued holding the triggers to fire on full-auto. Ruby watched each shell slowly careen away from the guns, leaving a lazy trail of steam behind them.

One bullet sauntered close to her face, and Ruby casually reached out and plucked it from the air. She held it close to her face, wondering if it was real or not – it certainly _felt_ real, that was for sure. But would a real bullet simply _hang_ in the air when you let go of it? Because this one did.

This had to be a dream. Her wounds were gone, too… this was just too strange.

Well, if it _was_ a dream, then she could at least have some fun…

…

… … …

… … … … …

Roman only made it seven steps past the gunmen when he heard the first odd noise: clattering metallic parts. He turned back to find a strange sight.

The kid was just fine. One of the soldier's guns had been fully dismantled in the blink of an eye. The others were just staring at it. The kid was grinning, too.

The most bizarre part was her eyes. They weren't silver anymore – they were _glowing white_. Almost like two light bulbs in her face.

"Are you freaking-… Do I have to do _everything_ my-…" He never got the chance to finish his sentence. That damned kid just… _blinked_ away. More clattering followed. Now all of the guns were lying in pieces on the floor. "…-self?"

Roman's jaw dropped. This was getting ridiculous.

He started raising his weapon, now tired of this, and began to say, _"I declare bullsh-…"_ but then he blacked out for a moment…

…Only to find himself several feet in the air and flying backwards, having already crashed through another of the warehouses windows. Luckily he was heading right for the water of the docks. It would hurt, but he'd live.

Surviving was what he did best, after all.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Ruby Rose stared in disbelief. It was official – this was _definitely_ a dream. There was no freaking way she could have done all that in reality.

She suddenly found herself moving so fast that time around her seemed to slow down. _Way_ down.

She could see through walls and across great distances with ease.

She could see colored Auras that told her the emotions of who she was looking at.

And her injuries were all gone.

It was _surely_ a dream.

"I. Am. _So. OP! Woo!"_ She couldn't resist doing a little dance at the thrill of such a one-sided win. Her mirth quickly faded as she looked back down at her shattered weapon, but an idea struck her – she was dreaming, so that meant she could just _fix_ it… with her mind… right?

Unless it was broken in real life, and the rest that followed was a dream…? In that case, it would stay broken. In that case, when she woke up, she'd still be wounded and facing death.

The tears returned as the possibility of such a reality hit home. "No… I don't wanna wake up…"

Slowly but surely, her world faded back into white. As before, she felt the strong arms of her mother wrap around her, the warmth and comfort of the best shelter in the world engulfing her. Sleep came over her slowly.

For the first time in years, Ruby heard her mother's unmistakable voice. It rang clear in her heart as well as her ears.

" _Sleep now, little rose…"_

As she faded away, Ruby sensed her mother nearby. It was similar to sensing someone standing over you while you laid in bed sleeping. But then… she sensed others. _Many_ others.

She heard a few more words, then knew nothing more.

"… _We'll take it from here."_

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **A/N: So that happened. Yeah. In short, my version of the Silver-eye Powers will be similar to the Avatar system (from** _ **Avatar: The Last Airbender)**_ **. You can deduce what that means on your own.**

 **As a side note, the knights summon thing was meant to be a reference to the Dark Souls series (Ornstein and Smaug), in case you couldn't recognize it. I probably misspelled those names… Also, R.B. was meant to be a parody of Arcee, from Transformers.**

 **(Update: I confess - I haven't even _played_ Dark Souls, so just…** **ignore the whole knights thing. I have no idea what I'm doing. :P)**

 **Disclaimer: Deadpool belongs to Marvel, not me.**

 **So how many of the 15 parodies (plus one cameo) did** _ **you**_ **figure out? Most of them should have been easy.** _ **Please**_ **don't fill the review space with a list of the parodies you** _ **did**_ **find, though…**

 **=^w^=**


	20. Awakening

…

…

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

She focused on her heartbeat, ignoring all else. The steady, rhythmic thumping that told her, beyond any doubt, that she was alive.

More than alive. _Beyond_ alive.

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

She inhaled, taking in the dry, hot air of the warehouse. Taking in the pain, the fear, the panic radiating from everywhere like a sickness. Taking in the destruction, the ruin, the death. She held it deep inside until her lungs burned for clean air. Her pulse raced.

…

 _Ba-dum_

 _Ba-dum_

 _Ba-dum_

 _Ba-dum_

 _Ba-dum_

 _Ba-dum_

…

Then she exhaled, purging herself of worldly pain and suffering, of exhaustion. Sending it far away. _Willing_ it away.

A few more breathes came next, shorter and calmer. Her head swam, taking in the new oxygen. Her pulse slowed.

…

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

…

She opened her eyes.

The space was mostly empty around her, dismantled gun parts and various debris littering the space. Off to one side, the shattered pieces of a Huntress weapon lay where they had fallen. They made her think of the petals of a rose after it had wilted and died. It was heartbreaking.

But death _had_ to come first, so that new life may bloom in its wake.

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

 _Ba-dum_

…

She had been called Ruby Rose once – but Ruby was asleep now.

She was more than Ruby. So much more.

She was the amalgamation of every true-blooded warrior to come before.

She was the purest form of power ever conceived.

She was… _light_ _incarnate_.

…

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 20:** _  
_ **Awakening**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

…

The east wall was smashed in from behind. Nearly a dozen of the Creatures of Grimm stood beyond it, faces eager and eyes blazing. They smelled food within the building. Prey.

Then they saw the ancient Enemy… and they remembered fear.

These creatures didn't fear the young girl standing before them. They had eaten plenty like her before. She could have been a stone statue for all the attention they gave her.

The girl's _eyes,_ however… those were a different matter.

To nearly any other onlooker, the girl's eyes would have looked like two blazing white flames nestled within her head. You couldn't see any details of pupil or iris behind the fire. It was incredible to see – certainly worthy of being called awe-inspiring – but the Grimm saw something different.

To the Grimm, the eyes of the Enemy meant death.

They had to flee… but they couldn't move.

The Enemy tilted her head slightly, as though she were thinking of something. In a curious moment, she lifted one hand into the air and … _snapped_ her fingers.

That feeling of fear only grew stronger as the Enemy smiled at them.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

"… … …take a squad and head north. Ironwood, do you- _WHA… Oof!"_

Carmine came close to biting her tongue as Omega suddenly and unceremoniously dumped his master on the floor and flew under the door and out of her reach. The mad scientist stared at said door in complete shock. She ignored the concerned voices on the headset, as she still couldn't figure out what just happened.

"Was is something I said…?"

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

She could have burned them in an instant, but she didn't.

She wanted …something else. What?

A weapon. But she had none.

Then she remembered one that she held only a few hours ago. The other woman had snapped her fingers to call it. Perhaps if she did, too…?

She snapped the fingers of her right hand. The Grimm flinched at the noise.

She waited, hand open and arm outstretched. She stared at the Grimm. They stared right back. No one moved.

Within a few minutes, the black mass reached her hand and formed itself into the large black scythe called Omega Rose. She gazed down at it in awe, but then focused her mind on another shape. One from a distant past. Her past life – one of many.

It shifted into a long-handled sword with two distinct blades. It was called Twin Caliber. The original had been destroyed by a volcanic eruption almost a millennia ago.

In a blur of movement, it claimed all eleven Grimm in the blink of an eye.

Just like old times.

She fought the urge to lose herself to the nostalgia. It just felt so _good_ to see her old partner again…

But, no… now was not the time. She had a job to do.

Hefting the sword to her shoulder, she walked out of the hole made by the Grimm and looked into the city. One by one she checked each area.

Beacon Academy was safe, but a bit torn up by the earlier attack. No one badly injured. Most of the downtown area had been cleared up, but a few stray Grimm remained. Qrow and the others could handle them. Ironwood was trying to get the rest of the Ruby Army organized to fight off the oncoming tide of Grimm, but it seemed futile. They were in no mood to be ordered about.

She grinned. _That_ looked like a fun place to be.

A roaring turned her attention to a nearby street as a Gryphon strolled out to meet her. It stopped dead when it caught sight of her eyes, though. Nothing new there.

Twin Caliber melted away as Omega formed itself to match its wielder's new mental image – a massive warhammer that could easily outmatch Nora's Magnhild. This one was called Mega Crusher… or M.C. for short.

The Grimm took a wary step backwards. She grinned again.

 _Hammer time._

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:27 AM  
Beacon Academy, BMAC – Carmine's Lab_

…

The Mad Scientist was trying to sit on a cardboard box in lieu of her usual chair ( _Where the hell did Omega go?_ ) but it wasn't very comfortable. She'd already shifted to her feet a few times, and was getting tired of it.

"A chair… a chair… my _kingdom_ for a chair…" she muttered as she typed furiously at the keyboard. No major losses to the front line troops was wonderful, but against a force like _that_ they needed perfect coordination. Anything less would doom them all.

Just as Carmine was opening her mouth to give more orders over her headset, a hand roughly stood her up and removed the box from beneath her. She couldn't stop the _yelp_ from escaping her lips. Just as quickly, her butt was planted in a proper chair. She blinked as she looked down at it, then again as she registered the identity of her… gluteal savior.

"All finished out there, Rain?"

The ancient Ruby smelled of smoke, but otherwise looked exactly like usual. She gazed at the digital display with her usual emotionless gaze, arms crossed in front of her. "Just now, yes," she nodded. "Cinder… won't be bothering us anymore."

Carmine _just_ caught the little flare of light around Rain's eyes, a clear sign that she was not fully calm yet. "I don't want to know."

"Our forces?"

"A little tired, but no issues. A few of them are acting as support, getting the rest back on their feet, but we're still in a serious pickle. Only a hundred against _2.5_ _million of those things?!"_

"In the Final War back home, humanity held it's own against 5 _billion._ Quit complaining."

"Son of a _bitch_ …!"

"…"

"By the way, …a hundred Rubys? Taking my words a bit literally, aren't you?"

"You _are_ the one who said 'a one in a hundred chance.'"

"That was _odds_ I was talking about, not concrete numbers! And that was for the 'best case scenario!' If anything, we're smack in the middle of the WORST case scenario."

"But we _did_ plan for this, remember?"

"I would rather _not_ use our backup plan, if it's all the same to you."

"Neither would I, but you know it's our best chance if things go south."

"I will _NOT_ abandon this timeline, Rain!"

"Carmine…"

"We're not finished here… not yet."

"… …You felt it, didn't you?"

"… … … … …Yeah. I think we _all_ did."

"Who do you think it was?"

"A one in a hundred."

"Hilarious."

"Omega ran off, we've got millions of Grimm at our doorstep and only a force of a hundred or so warriors, and you expect me to be _professional?"_

"I expect you to stick to the plan. You know what comes next."

"Speaking of plans… mind explaining that little _explosion_ a few hours ago? As in… _Ku?"_

"She was already a lost cause. An acceptable loss."

"Spoken like a true saint…"

"They teach you to be that sarcastic back at your Beacon?"

"Nope, it's a gift."

"Hope you saved the receipt."

"…"

"…"

"Just a moment… Ironwood, do you copy? Yes, it's me… … … I need you to take full command of the main force for a bit… … … Don't worry, it will only take a minute…"

"…?"

"Now then, Rain… I'm going to switch off the radio, and the two of us are going to have a …much-needed … _discussion_ about your conduct on this mission…"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:28 AM  
City of Vale, Docks_

…

The Beowulf glared at her.

Neo glared right back.

Things had started off pretty good… once she snapped out of her trance, that is. Neo quickly found herself unguarded, with little more than ropes holding her prisoner. Slipping out of them was child's play. The gods must have been in a good mood since she also found a perfectly functioning car parked just outside the tent she was being held in. Hotwiring it was almost _too_ easy.

After that, Neo found herself passing the docks just as none other than Roman Torchwick himself flew by. Literally. She nearly crashed the car, it was so unexpected. He landed in the water just past the pier, and Neo didn't have to think twice about what to do next.

Even as she dragged the man's limp form back onshore, Neo was forming a plan – get Roman and herself out of town, find some backwoods hotel to lay low in for a few days, then make for the nearest dock and sail to Mistral. Or Atlas. Hell, even Vacuo would be better than sticking around _this_ looney bin.

But she forgot about all the Grimm in the area. And now one was standing between them and the car.

They were still soaking wet, too. And Neo was _pissed._

Then, for just a moment, a face appeared in Neo's mind – dark red hair, silver eyes, and very well-muscled shoulders. Rose, her most recent adversary.

The short girl used her free hand to smack herself in the side of the head, jarring the image loose. She really wanted a stiff drink right about now. Why the hell was she _still_ seeing that dyke in her head?

With a low growl, the Beowulf took a step forward. Neo would have fought it, but she left her umbrella in the car and had a weight on her shoulders. Roman still had his cane clutched tightly in one hand, like he was scared to let go of it, but he was in no shape to fight.

This was _not_ the kind of trouble she liked to be in.

All at once, the Grimm was being pelted by bullets of what looked like ice dust from somewhere above the pair. It backed off, more annoyed than hurt by the shots. The shooter then landed lightly in front of Neo and her unconscious companion, giving the small girl a good view of the newcomer's butt.

And what a butt it was. _Damn._ Orange spandex was apparently all that was holding it in, letting it… jiggle a bit…

 _NOOO!_ Neo shook her head in confusion and horror. She was _not_ just staring at a woman's ass… she was _not!_ Good gods, what was wrong with her!?

"You a'ight, love?"

The woman had turned to look at them, and Neo forced herself to focus on her face. She had the same red hair and silver eyes as all the other freaks out tonight, but she kept those eyes behind an odd pair of orange goggles. Other than that, she had some kind of glowing blue… _thing_ on her chest. It looked really technical.

Finally processing the question, Neo simply nodded. She had to force herself to keep a neutral face.

The newcomer grinned cheekily, speaking in the strangest accent Neo had ever heard, "The road north's clear for ya, go on then. I'll keep 'em well occupied for ya. Best a' luck!" She finished with a wink.

Neo realized, to her complete horror, that she very nearly _swooned_ at that wink. If she hadn't been wet from swimming out after Roman, she would be sweating right now. On the plus side, at least this woman didn't know who _they_ were…

The Grimm, angry at being ignored until now, gave a roar. He didn't move closer, though.

The redhead roared right back, "Oi, _Bugger off!"_ before pulling a pair of twin pistols from her hips and letting loose a new barrage.

With their savior's attention drawn away, Neo and Roman made for the waiting car. She quickly buckled him into the passenger seat, dove into the driver's seat and fired up the engine.

Her eyes moved against her will, glancing back to the redhead with the spandex pants. Facing away from them and still shooting. With that butt still vibrating… almost hypnotically…

Neopolitan gave a powerful-yet-soundless scream and slammed her head against the steering wheel four times ( _I… AM… NOT… GAY…)_ before putting it in drive and tearing out of there.

The gods hated her. That had to be it.

She needed some whiskey. Some _strong_ whiskey.

Then again… gods only knew who she'd wake up next to, with the state her mind was in… hopefully it would be the ginger-haired man next to her… that would be nice… if it was another girl, Neo would probably just end it all…

"Ugh… I don't get paid enough for this bullshit…" Roman moaned, slowly returning to the land of the living.

Neo grinned as they passed the city limits.

Maybe they'd be alright.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:30 AM  
Eastern Battleground_

…

James Ironwood stood before an army.

But it wasn't the army he wanted.

As soon as he understood the gravity of the situation, the General of the Atlas Military had tried to contact his officers back home to send every last robot soldier and warship they could – but to no avail. His own security measures had become his undoing. By the time anyone back home could even de-code his message, Beacon and Vale would both have been in ruins.

The troops he had left after the initial part of the operation were in no condition to fight such insane numbers of Grimm. He had left them on city guard duty. If (or when) the Ruby Army failed to hold back the monsters, his forces would be the next line of defense.

He was no fool, however. He knew full well that his line wouldn't hold long.

This was a suicide mission.

He had already sent the word out that no orders would be given during the next battle. Each of the Rubys was on their own. It was obvious they'd fight better that way.

The Grimm were a bit of a mystery, though. Shortly after the spawning of the majority of them, all of the Grimm had taken to gathering their numbers in the mountains to the east of the city.

But they weren't attacking – they were just gathering.

Almost as though they were _afraid_ of something…

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Three of the four members of team RWBY were present and accounted for. And that made Weiss rather worried.

She was reluctant to admit it, but staying near Sapphire was… comforting. She felt secure with the Atlesian Specialist in a way she never had with her own sister. Even though they'd spent many evenings simply talking, the heiress never could figure out what it was that drew her back time and time again.

Sapphire handed her a cup of water, one of many being passed out among the Rubys, and nodded towards the black horizon. "I've never heard of Grimm acting like that before."

"It _is_ rather peculiar," Weiss agreed, taking a sip. "But at least it gives us time to prepare."

"Or to run," Sapphire added grimly.

Weiss glanced over to her left, her gaze falling on the only blonde for miles around as Yang searched frantically for her sister. Ruby could be among the others… or she could be somewhere else entirely. There was no way to be sure, since the young leader hadn't answered her scroll for the past hour.

The heiress really hoped Ruby was okay. Yang couldn't take losing another one.

Blake was the other concern. Ever since she arrived, the faunus was also searching for someone – and Weiss was confident she knew who it was. Even now, she spied Blake looking around with an odd mix of hope and anxiety.

To be honest, Weiss could understand the latter. She had shared in the experience that was Rose's pheromones. She and Blake had agreed never to bring up the subject again.

Yet Blake still tried to get closer to Rose, despite the issues. Just what was that girl thinking?

"…"

Slowly but surely, Weiss felt eyes on her from just off to one side. Someone was staring at her. She turned to find a rather …regal version of Ruby Rose watching her with a look that spoke of nostalgia.

"Hello, Weiss. I apologize if I was staring," she said kindly. This one reminded Weiss a little of her own mother.

Sapphire noticed the encounter and offered the introductions. "Ah, yes… Weiss, this is 'Magister' Ruby. She uses magic, for the most part. Magister, this is…"

"I know who Weiss Schnee is, Sapphire. Thank you anyway." Weiss noticed that this Magister and Sapphire exchanged a look of familiarity that made the heiress feel …left out.

Something nudged Weiss' hand, causing her to jump a little before she saw what it was – a small fox that looked like it was made of solid light. Before she could even say anything, the fox nimbly leapt up to her shoulders and perched itself there like a furry gargoyle.

"Vulpecula," the Magister noted, "tends to do that to anyone who needs a little cheering up. The Weiss I knew used to love foxes." The older Ruby was smiling warmly at the sight. And most likely at the memory.

Weiss couldn't help but smile as the light-fox nuzzled her face. "I suppose… I could learn to like them," she chuckled. It made a cute noise as she went to scratch it under the chin.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Blake hadn't seen Rose for several hours. Not since they first split up after the karaoke, in fact. She needed to find the muscular redhead.

There was something she needed to confirm.

All during the battle, Blake had been distracted by thoughts of Rose. That was unusual – up until this point, she only thought about her like this while they were in close proximity. Rose had already explained to the group about the whole pheromone issue, so Blake was aware of that much… but that didn't explain this tightness in her chest.

If it _was_ just the pheromones, that would be better. Then she could excuse these issues as side effects of unwanted chemicals.

If it wasn't… that could prove to be a problem. She didn't want to admit that she might have… fallen in love. Not with Rose, at least.

Doomed romances were great in her novels, but by no means did she want to live one. She knew from secondhand experience that it was a miserable situation to be in. She knew something of the pain it could cause.

Rose had to go back to her own world soon, so they would have no chance of being together. It was the very definition of a doomed romance. So she _had_ to know.

But first she had to _find_ the girl. Talk about a needle in a haystack…

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Yang still missed Ku, but now the pain had faded to a manageable level. It still hurt, but she could function. The blonde was currently searching for Ruby, since she wanted to say a few things before…

Before she no longer had the chance.

No one knew how long the Grimm would wait, so she hurried. So many Rubys to look through. No point in asking them, either – as far as most were concerned, _everyone_ was Ruby.

Yet _none_ of them were the short redhead Yang wanted to find.

There was one dressed in her school uniform that Yang had watched fight for a few minutes – the girl used electricity to shoot various coins at the Grimm with devastating results. She called it her 'railgun,' a word that meant nothing to the blonde brawler.

Another one sat cross-legged off to one side, a look of pure concentration on her face as her weapon floated in front of her. She, too, seemed to be floating a foot off the ground. Yang didn't bother her, but she could hear the redhead muttering some kind of chant under her breath, "I am one with the force and the force is with me… I am one with the force and the force is with me…"

Yet another one made Yang stop and stare – her ears were bird wings. Bird wings. Not animal ears, not faunus ears, but wings. In place of her ears. Never mind the fact she used a katana rather than a scythe, nor the fact that she also sported a few pieces of old-fashioned plate armor… her ears were bird wings.

Yang chose to bother this one, only to find out two things: she had no idea where Ruby was, and she called herself an 'Evenkuruga' …or something like that.

The blonde kept searching, now both anxious _and_ confused.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Same Time  
City of Vale, Downtown Area – Medical Tent_

…

Glynda stepped into the tent first, followed by Qrow. The scraggly man had been waiting for any update on the girl Vernal, and now he had one.

She would pull through. The spy gave a deep sigh of relief.

The rest of the tent was about half full – the few injured solders who were left needed more rest, and the hostages were looked at and sent off to a shelter. Vernal's had been the only major injury.

No word from Raven yet. Qrow was starting to wonder about her…

Almost in response to his thoughts, a familiar sound drifted through the tent opening from outside. A tearing noise, followed by a hum of energy. Qrow felt the familiar bond suddenly get stronger as his sister stepped through.

He rushed out just before the portal winked out of existence, watching as Raven stood gazing back through it with a considering look. She seemed… pensive. Unsure. Not at all like the Raven he knew.

Physically she seemed okay. Other than having lost her mask somewhere, all Qrow could see where a few small cuts and one tear at the shoulder of her outfit. She didn't even look out of breath.

Her attitude had him worried, though. "You okay?" he asked carefully.

The woman finally looked at him as though suddenly remembering he was there. Yes, she was _very_ distracted. "Yes, I… … … How is she?"

"With a bit more rest, she'll make a complete recovery. And you're welcome, by the way."

Again Raven looked back towards where her portal had been, lost in thought. What the hell happened back there?

"If you've got something to say, brother…"

"Is he dead…?"

Another pause, then, "Yes… … … and no."

Black brows furrowed deeply. She'd _never_ gave an answer like that in all the years they'd worked together. "You know, _I'm_ the one who usually gets drunk on the job, Raven. What the hell does _that_ mean?"

Deep crimson eyes turned to face him, not flinching away in the slightest. Her voice was thick with meaning, and just a touch of fear.

"He… … … _it_ … … … wasn't alive to begin with."

Qrow made a quick deduction, "You mean… you fought a robot?"

"No. Not human nor faunus, not a robot nor any other golem I've ever heard of. I don't know _what_ it was, okay?"

"Okay, I get it. You don't know what you killed. That's not uncommon in our line of work. But that's not what has you bothered right now… is it?"

She shook her head slowly, her hair swaying with the movement. "Toward the end of the fight, I managed to knock off his… _its…_ mask. Qrow…"

Her voice quivered for the first time since they were children.

" _It had Summer's eyes."_

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:33 AM  
Eastern Battleground_

…

At the edge of the city, she stopped and looked out towards the darkness. Hordes of the Creatures of Grimm lay waiting, covering the distant mountains like a blanket of ants, waiting to devour the defenders of the city, then the city itself. The rest of the world would fall soon after.

Unless she stopped it here.

As she watched, a lone Beowulf stepped out of the lines. It was massive and almost completely covered in armor plates. An Alpha. The creature roared and began charging toward the waiting army.

This broke the stalemate. Almost as one, the Grimm began charging right behind it. They moved like the tip of a spear, driving forward to break through the line and destroy their enemies.

Unsurprisingly, Yang led the countercharge. She noted a change in the blonde's Aura color – the dark blue now had flecks of a deep green running through it, with flashes of orange. She was still upset, but now distress and determination were equally balanced. Yang was finally ready for war.

Weiss and Blake were at her sides. Their own moods had changed little from before. She quickly examined the other Rubys around the trio – a handful she remembered from the 'Ruby Squad' but most were new.

They were also tired. Exhausted, even.

The fight wouldn't even last five minutes.

Her body still thrumming with power, she let Omega shift back to the form of Ruby's Crescent Rose. She ran towards the spot where the Alpha was set to collide with Yang. The place where destiny had determined to pit light and darkness against each other in a climactic showdown.

Time to defy destiny.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

No one else would lead them, so Yang stepped up. She never found her sister. She never got to say goodbye.

They were going to die tonight. She knew that.

But Yang Xiao Long never backed down from a challenge.

Meeting a few of the other Rubys had been what did it. Their spirits were enough for the blonde to strengthen her resolve. Their strength gave her the will to charge into the jaws of death one last time. She was ready.

If only she'd been able to find _her_ Ruby.

No one saw the single tear that slid down Yang's cheek as they charged into battle, giving a war cry that could have rattled windows for blocks around.

The Alpha charged right at her, mere feet away.

Yang lifted Ember Celica once again.

In that moment, she thought of Ruby – her baby sister.

In that moment, she thought of Weiss – her friend.

In that moment, she thought of Blake – her partner.

In that moment, she thought of Red – a long-lost brother.

And she said her goodbyes…

…

…

…

…

BWOOSH! ! ! !

…

…

A powerful force not only stopped Yang's attack, but it threw her back several feet. It also forced most of the others back, so she didn't collide with anybody. A few of them rolled along the ground for a ways, but Yang finally found her feet and turned to look at whatever had just saved her life.

It was Ruby. At least, it _looked_ like Ruby.

The air crackled with electricity around her cloak. Just being close to the girl gave Yang the sensation of deep pressure. Any more and she would suffocate.

The shape of Crescent Rose helped identify the girl, but Yang soon realized that she was actually looking at Omega. Ruby had the black blade slung over one shoulder as she stood facing the Grimm. The monsters looked as though they were backing away from her. Hell, they seemed _terrified._

"Ruby…?" Yang muttered timidly, lifting one hand towards the girl in question. If this _was_ her sister, what had happened? Where did all this power come from?

Ruby turned at the sound of Yang's voice, and the blonde's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes… it was as though the gods had pulled two stars from the cosmos and stuck them in Ruby's head.

" _Hello, Yang. It's good to see you again."_

The thrum of power that emanated from Ruby's body seemed to amplify her voice as well. Yang felt those words echo through her very soul.

" _You have all done well. I thank you."_

Murmurs rippled through the warriors behind her as Ruby addressed the rest of the army. It seemed as though every one of them could hear her just fine. Yang's skin was awash with goosebumps.

" _You may leave the rest to me."_

The idea of stopping Ruby never once entered Yang's mind. Not once. All doubt and fear had been driven out by those words. Ruby could do it. Ruby _would_ do it.

The redhead turned back to the Grimm – Yang swore they _flinched_ when she did – and took a ready stance. Omega returned to a liquid state as Ruby chose a new form for it. The crackle of electricity grew into a steady storm of lightning as the girl appeared to be charging herself up.

The amount of power she was displaying was nothing short of awesome. It almost looked like her cloak was starting to turn white… but that might have been a trick of the light. Ruby _was_ glowing rather brightly by this point.

But then Yang saw what Ruby was shifting Omega into… and she gave a quick gasp.

A pair of curved, S-shaped swords, the right blade almost a foot longer than the left, with advanced mecha-shift technology built into the handles and hilts. It was advanced because it was almost an entire generation early. They were called Crescent Moon, and were well known in the Huntsman world as the blades of one of the most famous Huntresses on Remnant.

They were Summer Rose's swords.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Crescent Moon was one of the few weapons she knew that hadn't been destroyed in battle – they were buried with their owner after her passing. Their death toll was almost as legendary as their wielder. Almost.

And now they were back, thanks to the miracle of nanotechnology that was Omega Rose. Back from the grave to mete out death and judgement once more.

Still gathering strength, she knelt low and spun the swords so she was holding them backhanded. She could feel her cloak billowing straight up with the force of the energy around her. The ground rumbled beneath her feet. The air cried out around her.

Over two million Creatures of Grimm stood before her. None would escape.

She struck, unleashing every speck of energy she had, moving between heartbeats.

She could not give the creatures any time to run. They all had to die at once.

So she did just that.

Moving so fast that time was an afterthought, she struck again and again. And again. And again. On and on she ran, taking a head here and a head there, cutting one in half, another in thirds. Strike after strike, kill after kill.

On she ran, continuing her grisly work. Over great distances and mountains, checking every nook and cranny of the battleground. None would escape.

Omega held true, not wavering in the slightest. He _had_ been well-designed if such speeds did not affect him. She spared her new partner a bit of quiet praise as she ran on.

It felt like hours had passed, and still she cut. A nearly endless amount of Grimm being harvested like tall grass beneath the reaper's scythe – an ironic analogy, really.

Crescent Moon had been designed for fast and deadly strikes at close range. Summer had mastered their use before ever setting foot on Beacon's campus, which was a large part of the reason she did so well. Swinging them backhanded like this wasn't the most… elegant style, but she had quickly taken a liking to it anyway.

The last Grimm fell to her blades, causing her to look around in surprise.

She was done?

Wow…

Maybe now she could rest…

She barely registered the feeling of Omega shifting itself into a new form as she quickly faded, falling into blackness…

…Only to be caught by two strong arms, holding her tight. She glanced up to find a pair of deep silver eyes underneath a white hood, and an expression of deep love and gentleness.

With a smile on her face, Ruby fell back to sleep.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

At first Yang thought Ruby had turned into an actual lightning bolt.

But then she realized that was giving the girl too little credit. Even lightning didn't move _that_ goddamn fast.

It wasn't just her, either – everyone else admitted seeing the same thing. Yang registered a brief flash of light, and then…

And then all of the Grimm were dead. _All of them._

 _Ho… Lee… Shit…_

Ruby had just saved them all. She'd just saved the world. And she'd somehow found a 'god mode' cheat to do it.

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Carmine had been in the middle of an angry statement when she simply… collapsed. Her legs no longer had the strength to keep her upright.

The map was suddenly very… empty.

Both she and Rain had felt the surge of power, but neither of them gave it much thought. Two and a half million Grimm would take a while to fight off, no matter _how_ much power one of the Rubys had found.

But this…? This was downright stupid.

She still had the radio off, but Carmine could venture a guess that it was just as quiet as they were. That many Grimm couldn't simply vanish all at once. It was impossible.

"Well," Rain said suddenly, breaking the silence, "I suppose that means I need to send the army home now. Their job here is done."

Carmine's mouth spoke of it's own accord, since her brain had yet to catch up with it. "I… suppose… I'll have to… set up for… _our_ transfers… too…"

Rain simply nodded and vanished, leaving the mad scientist to stare dumbly at the now-blank map of Vale.

What the hell just happened?

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: Next chapter, we say goodbye. For now.**

 **I included a few older references in chapter 19, which is likely why some of you guys missed them. The first parody Ruby was actually based on the** _ **Highlander**_ **series (90's TV show and several movies). The Ruby that almost blew up Yang and Red was supposed to be based on Lina Inverse from the** _ **Slayers**_ **anime (using her signature** _ **Dragon Slave**_ **spell). Sorry if those were a bit… outdated. Glad you guys liked the gunslinger Ruby, though!**

 **The third Ruby Yang sees in this chapter is based on Touka from the anime** _ **Utawarerumono.**_ **In case you were wondering.**

 **=^w^=**


	21. Time to Say Goodbye

(Multi-chapter Update - fixed several typos, edited some formatting, and re-wrote one scene that simply didn't make sense)

… … …

 _Summer stood before her, hood raised and face faded. They stood amidst a battlefield strewn with rapidly dissolving black bodies – remains of the Creatures of Grimm._

 _Who had done this? Her? No… others._

 _Her mother seemed to be pulling away, but not of her own will. She seemed desperate to stay, to tell Ruby something… but could not._

 _She tried to stay with Summer, to run and catch the rapidly shrinking form of her mother, but it was no use. She couldn't move._

 _A door slammed shut between them, blocking the way. She saw the grain of the wood, the inlay of silver in the gold hinges and knob. She saw the elegant pattern of a rose in full bloom carved into the center of the panel._

 _But she had seen it before… and forgotten it._

… … …

Unshed tears glimmered at the edge of vision as Ruby awoke, sunlight streaming onto her face from the nearby window. She expected to be unable to move a single muscle after the events of the night before, yet she sat up with no trouble. Had it all been a dream after all?

No… somehow she knew it wasn't. This was her reality.

Several faces awaited her – the rest of team RWBY foremost among them. Weiss and Blake sat on either side of her bed, both watching her with looks of anticipation. Yang sat in a chair by the door, head back against the wall, fast asleep and snoring.

Blake spoke first, quietly saying, "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Ruby could only chuckle, replying, "…You mean I'm not dead?"

Weiss responded dryly, "You'd better hope not. _She_ …" the heiress jerked a thumb at Yang, "…would be impossible to live with if you were."

Yang let out a snort, causing Ruby to giggle.

A warm lump under her covers caused the redhead to look – little Cherry was fast asleep next to her, purring lightly. The child was wearing a new set of clothes; a red t-shirt and black shorts. Ruby's questioning look was promptly answered by Blake. "She's been by your side ever since we brought you in this morning. Been worried about you."

"We've _all_ been worried," Weiss added.

Ruby smiled warmly and stroked the young catgirl's hair, paying special attention to the space between her ears. "Thanks, guys," she muttered.

The events of the night were fuzzy, muddled, but she remembered them. Most of them. She remembered a lot of Grimm, several new versions of herself, white-colored energy bursting out of her, and…

"I lost Crescent Rose," she said sadly.

They gave a solemn nod, but didn't reply. All of team RWBY knew how attached their leader was to her sweetheart. It must have been a pretty bad blow.

A new voice spoke up just behind her, from the other side of the room that Ruby hadn't looked at yet. "But you gained a new partner, remember?"

Carmine was busy looking over Ruby's medical sheets as she spoke, quickly making sure the nurses had done their jobs right. She _was_ still a doctor, after all.

"New partner? You mean …Omega? Isn't that _your_ weapon?"

The mad scientist put down the papers, her face falling just slightly. "Yeah, about that… … … can you call him in here?"

"Again, isn't it _yours_?"

Carmine responded by snapping her fingers into the air several times. Three sets of eyes looked around, waiting for movement… but nothing happened.

"As you can see, he doesn't seem to be listening to me at the moment. Would you please?"

She hesitated, but eventually Ruby raised a hand into the air and snapped her fingers – it wasn't a good snap, either. She was never good at doing that.

Instantly there was a response. Within seconds, the amorphous black substance flowed into the room and took the shape of the original Crescent Rose in her hand. Ruby stared at it in stunned silence.

"So that's how it is, huh…?"

Carmine's gaze had lost all emotion as she stated, "I've been betrayed… … … abandoned… … … _cheated on_ by my own creation…"

Weiss tried to cut her off by saying, "Aren't you exaggerating just a little?"

"He likes the younger me better than the older me… … … betrayed… … left behind… … tossed aside…" Her face fell further and further as she droned on, her voice losing all emotion as she descended into the depths of depression.

Ruby turned to Blake, hoping for some help, when she noticed a new detail about the faunus. "Are your eyes …red?"

Blake's reaction was instant: "No…" But she still turned to face the other wall, hiding her eyes as best she could on short notice.

Yep, she'd been crying. Now was not the time to pry, however.

"How long have I been out?"

Carmine pulled herself together enough to answer, "About eight hours. You had good timing, though – I'm sure you'd _hate_ to miss zero hour."

"Zero…?"

"At 3:00 this afternoon… … … we're going home."

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 21:** _  
_ **Time to Say Goodbye**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Two Hours Earlier  
Beacon Academy, BMAC – Weapon Workshop_

…

Rose had her own Crescent Rose mk-II folded up, maintenance finished. The tools here were thankfully the same as back home, so it was quick work. Mk-II was bigger than the original, but for Rose the heavier frame and larger caliber rifle was perfect for her new style of fighting. She had developed it with Coco's help back home, and the influence was clear to anyone who knew of the brown-themed girl's penchant for heavy-caliber weaponry.

Now to get back to the team CFVY room. She still had a few things to discuss with Coco. About Coco. But not _this_ Coco, the one back home…

 _Gods_ she wanted this alternate-world crap to be over. It hurt her head.

Thinking back on what Rain had promised her back when they first met, Rose started to wonder if she was really ready to go back. The whole point of bringing her into this mess was to get her ready to face the trials back home, but as far as she was concerned that was not gonna happen. She could see no way around the issue of Coco trying to kill Yang. And vice versa.

It was too bad she couldn't get an extension on this vacation. Rose liked it here – the girls weren't doing everything in their power to get into bed with her. She would miss this place, really.

Just as she reached the door, it opened on it's own to admit the only faunus Rose had personally gotten to know since joining Beacon almost a year earlier: Blake. Those amber-colored eyes widened, apparently not expecting this encounter, either.

As Rose opened her mouth to speak, Blake put her hand up to stop her. "Have you… used your medicine recently?"

A reasonable question. "Less than an hour ago. I used a double dose, even." No _way_ was she gonna go home and leave anyone else here …entranced.

Her face lit up with relief, and the brunette made her way into the room. She then shut the door behind her, essentially keeping the tall redhead from leaving.

"Um, Blake? Everything okay?"

"I need to …check something."

"I told you I'm clean. No smell."

"That's why I need to check now, while there _is_ no smell." Blake strode forward, putting herself closer to Rose than she'd ever dared before – at least while fully sober. Rose sometimes recalled that day when Blake succumbed to the pheromones; it _still_ made her nervous.

The cat faunus mentioned, "I had Carmine take an extra step to clean me out: she used a special detox incense on me. It was strong enough to flush out any lingering effect of your pheromones. _No_ extra chemicals. Right now it's just you… … … and me."

Something about her words made Rose swallow hard. That and the fact that she'd never had the chance to see Blake's eyes up close… and she was struck by how pretty they were.

The faunus kept her voice low, "I don't need you to say anything, just … … …indulge me for a few minutes?"

In any other circumstance, Rose would have refused. Fought back. Ran out of the room. If it was any other girl, she would have found some excuse to get away. To deny her. She'd had lots of practice back home, with most of the female members of the student body actively trying to get into her pants.

But she did not deny Blake.

The faunus began running her hands over Rose's arms lightly, caressing the skin and causing goosebumps to ripple all over them. One hand found its way to her head and began running through her hair. No movement was rushed, no touch was harsh. Rose found herself thoroughly enjoying this.

Blake's face remained unreadable during her ministrations. Rose had no way of knowing what the girl was thinking, or why she was doing this. The clock on the wall ticked the seconds away as she continued sitting there, letting Blake paw at her.

After what seemed like a half-hour, Blake said in a quiet voice, "…If I were to kiss you right now… what would you do?"

Her immediate reaction would have been to pull back and leave, but Rose could feel the Xiao Long genes kicking into high gear. She didn't know what to do… and yet she did. Instinct took over.

Rather than reply, Rose took Blake by the chin with her fingers, tilted the brunette's head up, and gently gave her a soft, slow kiss.

Coco had _taken_ Rose's first kiss. She had been _forced_ to lay one on Neo.

But she _freely gave_ this one to Blake. That made it special. That made it mean something.

As she pulled back, Rose gave a half-grin and muttered, "Probably something like that."

The redhead was startled to see tears falling from amber eyes. That pretty face twisted into a strained sobbing expression, her breath coming in short gasps.

" _God… … … dammit… … … …!"_ Blake's voice choked out a few words before she buried her face in Rose's shoulder, letting her wailing sobs out in the safety of the redhead's arms.

For a brief moment, Rose felt panic creep up on her. She'd made a mistake, pushed the girl away, ruined a perfectly good friendship. She'd screwed up.

But then she quickly realized that Blake did not run _out_ of the room, which she would have were any of those things true – she had run _into_ Rose's arms instead.

Those Xiao Long genes saved her again as Rose simply held the weeping girl, one hand lightly stroking her back. She had no freaking idea what had just happened, but it was plain to see that Blake was in serious pain – and she would be _damned_ before leaving that alone.

Thinking back to that year at Beacon, Rose began to wonder at the point of it all. She had adamantly refused to become involved with any other girl beyond being good friends, no matter how much they pursued her. She had convinced herself that she was straight. She had run from Coco's dangerous level of passion… although _that_ was acceptable, as Coco could easily have killed her.

Yet now she found herself holding a sobbing girl in her arms, trying valiantly to still the shaking and calm her tears. And she wasn't hating it. In fact, she almost found herself enjoying it. Almost.

As her shirt became rather soaked, Rose considered the brunette. Blake had always seemed the strong, silent type with a welcome affinity for reading books. She had apparently struck the perfect balance of feminine and masculine qualities that kept her firmly on Rose's radar. Blake had also managed to keep an air of mystery about her, one that Rose tried to peer through at every opportunity. There had been a few moments where she saw behind the curtain, getting a look at the hidden side of Blake. The side she kept private. The side she didn't want anyone else to see.

Just like now, with Blake openly weeping into her arms. Rose would have bet money at that moment that the only other people on the planet who had seen her crying were her own parents, and even then only when she was very young.

It was a shame she couldn't read minds; Rose would have paid a lot to know what Blake was thinking right then.

Before much longer, Blake's tears seemed to dry up – she did not move away, however. The faunus kept a tight grip on Rose's shirt, still breathing hard. The redhead opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she saw Blake's hand come up and undo her ribbon, letting it fall to the floor and leaving Rose face-to-ear with Blake's faunus traits.

Still not speaking or looking up, Blake took Rose's right hand and placed it onto her head, aiming the fingers to make contact with the ears. Rose glanced down, but Blake still did not look up at her. Those amber eyes were closed, though.

Rose smiled warmly, understanding spreading through her. She began lightly rubbing and caressing Blake's ears, relishing the softness of the fur.

Honestly speaking, Rose had been wanting to do this ever since she found out Blake even _had_ cat ears… but held herself back. No longer – now she could pet them to her hearts content.

Less than a minute after she started, Rose was rewarded for her efforts with a low purring from Blake. Another wave of goosebumps rippled down Rose's back as she continued. She decided she liked that sound.

Rose sighed, admitting to herself _I guess I'm not as straight as I thought._

They stood there for another hour, simply holding each other.

No one bothered them. No one else was in the world for all they were concerned.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:00 PM, Sunday Afternoon  
Beacon Academy East Courtyard, The Pavilion_

 _(One Hour Before Transport)_

…

Weiss and the others had gathered out here almost an hour ago, right after lunch. Carmine had been hard at work getting her transport device remodeled – sending everyone back one-by-one was not an option today. No time for that. Instead, she opted to put together a complicated multi-transport program and send them back all at once. This also required her to enlarge the apparatus itself, since otherwise they would be a bit… cramped.

News of the leave-taking spread quickly and other groups came out to see the new celebrities off. And they were, too – you don't save an entire kingdom and remain anonymous for long.

The extra company didn't bother Weiss, though. Her issue was with …something else.

She didn't want Sapphire to leave.

To be perfectly honest, she didn't want _any_ of them to leave.

But saying so would only cause undue tension and extra stress, so she kept quiet. It would tear her up inside, but that was the sort of damage that she could heal slowly, over a longer stretch of time. Like the scar over her eye, however, she knew the effects would not be easy to hide. She would be a changed woman.

Every one of the Ruby Rose look-alikes had wormed their way into her heart, no matter how hard she tried to keep them out. Cherry and Ku were the first (for obvious reasons), but even Red found his way there in time – much to the heiress' surprise. She actually found him somewhat …charming now. Rose was little more than eye-candy at first, but Weiss eventually thought of her as a very Yang-like version of Ruby… which was a scary thought all by itself.

Even Carmine and Rain had become somewhat important to her, like old relatives or distant authority figures that she had come to accept and cherish. Even if you handed her double her value in lien, though, Weiss could not have explained why this was. She really didn't like them, but she still didn't want them to leave. It was strange.

And then there was Sapphire Schnee. The carbon-copy of Winter Schnee. The silver-eyed woman who had Weiss' heart wrapped around her little finger.

This wasn't 'being in love' …Weiss had read a few of Blake's secret books, so she knew a little about that flippant emotional response. She didn't want to take Sapphire down to the lake, gaze deeply into her eyes, and make sweet sweet love all through the night – perish the thought, dear _gods._

Yet Weiss truly enjoyed being with the woman. There was a deep connection there, a comradery. It was similar to how she felt after spending a lot of time around Winter, but far more personal. More intimate. Winter felt too distant, too isolated. Sapphire would have shared her bed if Weiss had asked.

Not that she had _tried_ , mind you; that was Cherry's job. Weiss often found herself being snuggled beneath the sheets during those two weeks – Cherry frequently snuck into everyone's beds each night in search of warmth and cuddles.

Weiss smiled at the memory. _Everyone_ would miss Cherry. Goodness.

As her attention returned to the event at hand, Weiss spied team CFVY making its way to the Pavilion. She noticed Coco handing something small to Rose, but it was wrapped in a bag to keep it hidden. The second-year had an odd smile on her face during the exchange, but Weiss chose to ignore it. Coco Adel was one girl she did not want to get too involved with if she could help it.

Team JNPR had arrived about ten minutes earlier, each member already mingling with everyone else. Red and Nora were talking with Red, and Jaune was talking with Sapphire while Pyrrha stood nearby. From what Weiss had heard, Pyrrha seemed a bit …irritated that Jaune had continued training with Sapphire without her. Just a bit. She _had_ always been the competitive type.

Velvet's arrival prompted a happy squeak from Cherry, who quickly bounded over to the faunus and began eagerly telling stories. Weiss noticed, however, that Cherry had been pulling Ruby along with her ever since the young leader had been released from her hospital bed a few hours ago. They seemed inseparable now.

That could be a problem when Carmine finished. She did not want to watch Cherry get pulled away in tears. Weiss knew she would start crying, too.

Yang's attitude was the most surprising. Weiss expected the blonde to either be her normal casual-and-happy self or her new angry-and-brooding self… but Yang was simply staring into the middle distance, lost in thought. She didn't seem to even know where she was.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Weiss walked over to her friend and said, "Are you okay?"

No response. She was acting like a zombie. Welp… in _that_ case…

"Are you feeling… _Yang-_ xious?"

A snort, followed by, "Nice try, Ice Queen."

"I get an 'A' for effort."

"But a 'D' for finesse."

"You can't even _spell_ finesse."

"And you can't spell …uh…" A pause, then a muffled curse word fell to the ground.

One white eyebrow raised, "Actually I _can_ spell that word, but I will not as we are in public. So I ask you again… are you okay, Yang?"

The blonde sighed, looking intently at her shoes. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Very," the heiress sighed. "But I've found that talking about it sometimes helps."

"Not this time it won't," Yang quietly muttered. She once again fell silent, looking off to one side.

Weiss decided not to press the issue, but instead found herself following Yang's gaze. What she found raised even more questions than she had before.

She was staring at Rain.

… … …

 _The time was around midday. The day was Thursday._

 _Or was it Friday? Who knew? Who cared?_

 _All Weiss knew was that she'd lost a day or two after falling prey to Rose's pheromones along with Blake. And she was busy venting to Sapphire about it._

 _She remembered that Yang had come up to the two of them about something, but the details of the conversation were a bit foggy - no doubt due to her usual mental defense mechanism that forced her to forget any sort of bad joke the blonde brawler tried to tell. That happened a lot._

 _After a moment, Weiss remembers seeing Ruby approaching the trio from two different directions at once. One is accompanied by Blake, the other is alone. With only a little mental effort, the heiress realizes that the lone Ruby is actually Rain, the supposedly 'immortal' look-alike. Thus far she had yet to see any proof of this._

 _Rain says nothing as she passes the group, now five strong (including Ruby and Blake), but Weiss notices a large piece of jagged metal sticking out of the girl's back. It is also rusty and wet, as though it had been there for quite a while. Naturally, she points this out with barely restrained panic. Ruby and Yang don't bother restraining anything as they instantly begin to freak out._ _Only Sapphire and Blake hold back on their reactions, watching the supposedly injured girl to see what she would do._

 _As they all watch, Rain simply looks back at the scrap, shrugs, then reaches back and simply YANKS IT OUT. She doesn't even flinch._

 _Weiss comes quite close to passing out on the spot._

 _Before she can recover herself, Weiss is shocked yet again to see a strange light shoot out of the gaping hole in the girl's shoulder - it lasts only a moment, the fades. The hole is gone without a trace._

 _"I wondered where that piece went after the explosion," she offhandedly comments. She dropped the scrap where she stood and walked away, offering no explanation about this 'explosion' or anything._

 _Off to one side, Ruby and Blake are trying to revive an unconcious Yang._

 _Weiss could only stare at the departing girl, now with a better understanding of how she could have survived nearly 2,000 years._

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _12:50 PM  
Beacon Academy, BMAC – Weight Lifting Room_

 _(About an Hour Earlier)_

…

Yang did not eat lunch with the others. She wasn't hungry.

She hadn't had much of an appetite since last night.

The _thwap-thwap_ of boxing gloves against heavy bag filled the space as Yang fought with her inner demons. Her guilt. Her rage. The thuds grew heavier as her anger built itself up – anger at the Grimm for making such a mess, anger at the White Fang for putting everyone through hell to begin with, anger at –

Rain.

All at once, the image of Rain's demolished face flashed before her eyes. Yang stumbled backwards, unable to land another blow. The heavy bag had become that girl's meaty corpse for just a moment, but that was all it took.

Her anger was gone. Yang put hands to her knees, breathing hard at both the exertion and the fear.

"Hmm… It's worse than I thought."

Wide lavender eyes turned crimson in a heartbeat as Yang beheld the intruder. Rain, of course. The girl had slipped in making less noise than a ghost ninja. Seriously, how did she _do_ that?

The anger was slow to return, so Yang took a moment to pull her gloves off and take a breath. "What's worse?" She tried asking calmly. Rain was not much of a talker, so maybe she could drive the girl away by asking lots of questions?

"You. It would seem you are broken."

Both fists clenched painfully. "And whose fault is that?"

"Your own."

"After what you pulled, you've got a lot of nerve blaming be for this."

"If you're talking about Ku, then you need to understand something – if I hadn't stopped her, Thorn would have done things to you that make …this… seem a mercy."

"And you think that makes what you did _okay?"_

"Good or bad, what's done is done. I will not ask for anyone's forgiveness."

"You wouldn't get it, even if you did."

"The pain you hold onto is the problem. _That_ is what will destroy you."

"You regenerate everything, so you don't know _shit_ about pain!"

"Pain? You think _this_ is _PAIN?!_ "

"…"

"I have loved and lost more people than you will ever meet in your entire life. I have watched dear friends succumb to the ravages of time, I have seen whole villages burn to the ground, and I have seen tragedies the likes of which are only in your nightmares! _So tell me again that I don't know about pain!"_

"…"

"…"

"But… I killed you."

"Yang… did you really think you would never have to kill someone in this line of work?"

" _I'M NOT LIKE YOU, OKAY?"_

"…"

"I've never… … … I don't… … I… I'm scared, sis. I snapped and just… kept hitting you, even after I knew it was over. I totally lost control. I… I don't want that to happen again…"

"A long time ago, you told me something…"

"…?"

"You said that your anger was like a drug. A little bit can go a long way, but it's also dangerous. An overdose could kill somebody."

"…"

"Yet you also understood that you _needed_ to feel it every so often, if only to remind yourself of the damage you were capable of. Fire off the big guns so you can fully appreciate the smaller guns… that sort of thing."

"You're saying… … … I shouldn't be scared of it?"

"Your anger is as much a part of you as that glorious blonde hair of yours. To be scared of it would be the same as wanting to dye your hair pink."

"The day my hair turns pink is the day Beacon is left a smoldering crater."

"Heh… that's more like it."

"Still, … … …that doesn't mean I'm okay with killing somebody."

"You will understand in time, Yang Xiao Long. In time."

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _2:55 PM  
The Pavilion_

 _(Five Minutes Before Transport)_

…

"These are for you guys. For being the best hosts ever," Carmine's grin was a mile wide as she presented each member of team RWBY with a gift.

New scrolls. Highly advanced and loaded with brand-new technology that was at least twenty years ahead of its time… according to her, that is.

As far as Yang could tell, they were simply the same devices but with different colors – Ruby's was red, Weiss' was a bluish-silver, Blake's was black with a purple shine, and Yang's was a glittering gold color. Each also had a newly-colored dust stone in the center that matched it's owner's eye colors. Other than being fully personalized to each of them, they didn't look any different.

"I've already transferred everything from your old scrolls to your new ones, so you're good to go right away. The new batteries will last for _years_ without needing to be re-charged. And they are loaded with lots of goodies – you'll still be finding new ones long after you graduate!" Carmine was practically strutting as she made these outlandish statements. Yang merely blinked at her, then pocketed the device.

All of team RWBY, team JNPR, team CFVY, and even a few of the transfer students who hadn't done anything up to this point _(Sun: "Hey, I helped too!" Neptune: "Dude, no you didn't…")_ were all present to witness the Ruby Squad's departure. Even Professor Ozpin and Glynda had made their way down to watch. It was a grand farewell.

"Welp, time to go…" Carmine began hitting a few buttons, starting up the process. Slowly, each member of the squad came up to take their places on the platform.

Sapphire took a moment to give Jaune and Pyrrha a hug, then Yang and Weiss. She lingered on Weiss, whispering a few words of encouragement before they parted. Yang clearly saw the tears in Weiss' eyes as the Atlesian Specialist took her position.

Red got a hug from Nora (whether he liked it or not), then gave Ren a hearty handshake. He tried the same with Yang, but was pulled into a fierce hug anyway. She gave him a strong pat on the shoulder as he walked away.

Rose gave each member of team CFVY a handshake (she refused any hugs), then moved to do the same for team RWBY – but Blake had other ideas. In front of the gods and everybody, she pulled the taller teen down to her height and laid a _steaming_ kiss right on the lips. A few of the onlookers whooped in delight. The muscular teen was rather red-faced as she joined the others on the platform. Blake just looked pleased with herself.

Cherry couldn't leave until she'd given everybody present a hug, sometimes more than once. She couldn't help it. Yang overheard her mumbling cute little goodbyes to everybody. Velvet got the longest one, the faunus trying to stand up a few times as Cherry pulled her back down. Finally Rose came over and picked the child up, carrying her to join the group.

Rain simply materialized amidst the group, clearly there just for show. She ignored everybody as she walked right up to Yang and simply said, "Are you well?"

There was no simple answer to that, so Yang just sighed and said, "I will be."

"That is all I ask. And … … …I'm sorry."

The blonde was genuinely surprised at that, but she managed a nod. Then, without knowing what she was doing, Yang raised a fist towards Rain. The look-alike saw the fist, glanced at Yang's face, then bumped the raised fist with her own.

They shared a silent nod as Rain joined the rest of the Ruby Squad.

Carmine, the last one, set the machine to activate after a timer went off, then paused to give the onlookers a few last words:

"You can do what you like with the machinery I left here, but I would recommend having it completely dismantled. I can't promise you'll never see me again, but I _can_ promise that I will do everything in my power to keep this timeline as stable and secure as possible. Remember, the future is in your hands."

She dashed up to the now-crowded platform in time to turn and give the crowd one last wave, along with all five of the others. The crowd waved right back, some of them teary-eyed. Yang spied Blake sending a kiss towards Rose, who made an exaggerated show of catching it.

Yeesh. The cat faunus was literally _begging_ to be teased later.

At long last, the device fired up for the final time and emitted a near-blinding flash of blue-green light that fully engulfed the group of alternate-reality Ruby Roses.

When the flash subsided, the Ruby Squad was gone.

It was finally over. Life could go back to normal.

As the onlookers began to disperse, Weiss walked up to Yang and gave the blonde a hug of her own. "I'm not gonna lie… I will miss them," she admitted.

"I know what you mean," Yang agreed.

They had become so used to the presence of a gang of Ruby look-alikes that living without them would feel …empty. Like a large part of their lives had simply walked away. It would be a hard transition back, but at least it would be less …forced than it was back when this whole thing started.

Back on that fateful day that Carmine the Mad Scientist stepped into their lives and changed everything…

"Um, guys?" Blake asked with a slightly worried tone.

Yang almost didn't catch it, but when she did her heart rate quickly began to rise. "What's wrong?"

"… … …Where's Ruby?"

"…"

"…?"

It was in that moment that Yang noticed that there were no heads of dark red hair _anywhere_ nearby.

Panic began to set in full-force. "Ruby? _Ruby?"_ Yang's pleas were not answered. The few teams left standing there tried to look around, but to no avail.

Ruby was gone.

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After almost an hour of searching, there was no trace of her. Jaune took team JNPR into the BMAC in the hopes she simply slipped away to work on a new Crescent Rose or something. Coco took team CFVY to search the dorms from top to bottom. The remainder of team RWBY made for the airship docks on the off-chance the girl had made a break for town.

But it turned out to be useless. All four of the registered transports were present and accounted for. None had gone into town.

Yang was ready to slam her fist into the concrete, but a new noise drew her attention away – a low rumbling, similar to the sound of a larger transport powering up nearby. Except none of them were occupied at all.

It was also quickly getting darker. All of Yang's mental alarm bells were blaring at full strength by now.

Weiss nearly slammed her shiny new scroll against the ground in frustration, growling, "Nothing. No answer. _Dammit!"_

Blake's voice carried a clear note of raw panic as she pointed out into town and cried, "What the hell is going on…?"

Yang looked out and beheld a terrifying sight – the city was disappearing.

The rumbling was getting much stronger as a grey … _wall_ quickly swallowed everything up. The emptiness had completely surrounded the teens, engulfing the nearby mountains, the city, even parts of the school itself.

Yang could not stop the tears as Carmine's words rang out into her mind:

 _A Ruby Rose died. The timeline collapsed soon after._

Emotions bubbled out of the blonde in a torrent, her voice choking out a sob as the reality of their situation sunk in.

They were all dead. Ruby was gone. Somehow or other their entire world was collapsing.

Terrified beyond anything she had felt during the war less than a day ago, Yang quickly grabbed both Blake and Weiss in a tight hug. Tears flowed freely as she sobbed, "I love you guys… you know?"

Weiss finally understood their situation as well, but she merely held Yang and Blake tightly. If nothing else, they would go together.

Blake had a look of angry defiance. She held her friends, but her gaze was aimed at the oncoming greyness and locked in a scowl. A fighter to the last.

They held fast to each other as the world came to an end.

She wondered if it would hurt when they disapp-

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 _ERROR: REMNANT-1802  
TIMELINE COLLAPSE DETECTED_

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 _LIFELINE PROTOCOL  
ACTIVATION DETECTED_

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 _SUBJECT 9559-YANG TRANSFER CONFIRMED  
SUBJECT TRANSFERRED TO REMNANT-6971_

 _AWAITING CONFIRMATION_

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 _SUBJECT 2525-BLAKE TRANSFER CONFIRMED  
SUBJECT TRANSFERRED TO REMNANT-2789_

 _AWAITING CONFIRMATION_

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 _SUBJECT 9483-WEISS TRANSFER CONFIRMED  
SUBJECT TRANSFERRED TO REMNANT-1148_

 _AWAITING CONFIRMATION_

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 _SUBJECT 7330-RUBY TRANSFER NOT CONFIRMED_

 _PROTOCOL ACTIVATION ERROR DETECTED_

 _SUBJECT LOST_

 _PLEASE CONFIRM ERROR_

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 _EINHERJAR PROTOCOL  
ACTIVATION DETECTED_

 _SEVEN SUBJECTS CONFIRMED TRANSFER  
SUBJECT STATUS UNKNOWN  
TRANSFER DETAILS UKNOWN  
PROTOCOL DETAILS UNAVAILABLE_

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 _AWAITING FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS_

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Ruby had never been big on trees, but as she opened her eyes, that was the very first thing she noticed: These trees were different.

Taller than anything she had seen before, the trees before her had leaves of a more pale green as well. She was on a hill overlooking a small mountain range. In the expanse of forest she could see, there were large patches of yellowish leaves. She had no idea what _those_ were, but she was willing to bet she wouldn't recognize them, either.

Where in the nine hells _was_ she?

Muffled thunder drew her attention to the side as a dozen figures rode into her clearing, each riding a large, armored horse. The riders themselves also bore armor the likes of which Ruby had never seen before. It looked like small metal plates held together by thin ropes. It had a Mistralian feel to it, but also an older tone. Like she was looking at ancient armor.

One rider lowered a spear at her, barking a few words that Ruby had no chance of understanding. A few of the other riders did the same. The language sounded nothing like what she knew back home.

A strange world… with strange people… talking in a strange language…

Crap.

Ruby kept her voice low as she muttered to herself, "I'm in bi-i-i-ig trouble, mm-hmm."

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 _Unknown World  
Ruins of Beacon Academy_

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She walked forward at a brisk pace, but tried not to look like she was in any hurry. It would not do to look like she was uncomfortable here.

The wreckage around her was total, complete. This was the kind of devastation she imagined wreaking upon those idiots herself – but it seemed a bit worse in this reality. The sky was almost black, yet filled with deep purple clouds that littered lightning and spit rain with impunity. There was a darkness to the air that could leave even the hardest murderer looking back over his shoulder.

Thorn had to fight the urge to do just that. She picked up her pace just a hair as she made her way to the remains of Beacon's main assembly hall.

She followed no lights or signs. There was no voice in her head, nor floating spirit to guide her steps. Rather, there was a signal – an undeniable urging in her brain that almost _pulled_ her along. Even if she closed her eyes and spun around, she could instantly point where she needed to go.

The girl absently rubbed the skin of her neck before pushing her way through the rotted out double doors.

Within the room lay almost total blackness, but Thorn's eyes adjusted quickly. Before her waited four figures, each wreathed in the darkness like it was a blanket. Each vastly different from herself, as well as from each other.

The first stepped close as Thorn entered, her flimsy dress doing it's damnedest to hold her excessive …assets in. It was fighting for it's life by this point. And it didn't have much hope.

"Thorn, my darling," she purred as she glided closer, "I've been waiting for you. I trust you are well, my pet?" One hand slid under Thorn's black hood to stroke the girl's hair.

Thorn wanted nothing more than to tear that hand clean off of her arm… but she dared not. Instead she simply muttered, "…Don't call me that…"

The woman chuckled, causing her massive chest to sway several inches. Thorn could _hear_ the stitches of her dress crying out in pain. "I'll call you whatever I want. I pulled you from the jaws of death. You are _mine_ … … …remember?"

Her neck suddenly burned fiercely, causing the hooded girl to give a sharp gasp of pain. The woman merely smiled wider, her mouth stretching much too far. Her eyes gleamed with madness.

"As cute as this whole exchange is," the second woman grunted, "I do have other things to do." Easily the tallest of the group, this woman folded her arms in annoyance. Thorn noted the gleam of metal from her left arm, as well as the broad eyepatch over one of her eyes. This one had a definite air of authority.

"Relax… we are merely here to welcome our newest ally, nothing more."

The third woman present was closer to a young girl in appearance – but her attitude and her voice painted a far different picture. She carried herself like a woman several times her age, and her child-like face did not match the adult voice that came out of it. The large eyes beneath her hood glowed red.

"Ally?" Thorn said, confusion clear in her voice. "You mean me?"

She wanted to tell them all how nuts they were to think she would join up with anybody, but the fourth member of the group gave her pause. The presence it emanated was worse than anything she'd felt before, and far-and-away the worst of this lot.

The fourth person in the room stood towards the back, leaning against the wall with arms folded, head down. Thorn almost missed that one entirely, but the thick darkness coming off of her (Him? It?) was almost palpable. Thorn soon made out one single detail – a featureless, bone-white mask that sported two narrow eye slits.

"Do you see anyone else, child?" the younger girl asked, a touch of mirth in her voice.

The supremely well-endowed woman grabbed the back of Thorn's head and pulled, jerking the girl's head back painfully. Her voice was at odds with her violent action as she calmly stated, "You have been honored by our goddess, dog. Show her your gratitude by licking her feet."

Thorn would rather have bitten off her own tongue and stuffed it down this bitch's throat… but she could not. She wanted to use her new dimensional powers to simply escape, but she could not do that either.

This woman already explained why, too: she gave Thorn this power, so she alone could give her permission to use it. Thorn was well and truly _leashed_.

Her hands and knees moved against her will, putting Thorn almost face-down on the floor before the girl. She had no idea who this damn kid was, but she knew that if no one stopped her, Thorn would do exactly as she had been told. She tried to fight it, but her mouth opened and let her tongue start to come out anyway.

"There's no need for that, my dear," the kid said at last. "Our new friend is joining us as an equal, not a lower creature."

The one-eyed woman huffed, "And why should we welcome her? What does she bring to the table that we don't?"

"Thorn, was it?" The child's eyes were gleaming once again as she addressed Thorn. "Why don't you show us what you can do?"

She knew the kid was not talking about her newly-bestowed gift of dimensional transport. Thorn stood to her feet and locked eyes with each of the figures in the room, the turned and strode towards a shadow in a corner…

…Only to re-appear from a shadow on the other side of the space. The one-eyed woman grunted with surprise. Thorn almost grinned with satisfaction.

The masked figure also turned to regard her. Thorn felt a shiver run down her spine - it was like being watched by a spirit of death.

"Free movement through shadows – _that_ is our new friend's semblance."

The child finally walked forward, her small body entering the shaft of dim light cast by the open door. Thorn was not very surprised to find her wearing an all-too-familiar red hood and cloak, but the glowing red eyes from beneath that hood were a bit …disconcerting.

The woman with the gigantic melons began stroking Thorn's head again, almost as if to say _good doggie._ Thorn swallowed the urge to tear the woman's tits clean off her chest.

The child's gaze was disarming as she said, "Welcome to the family. I'm expecting good things from you."

 _Whatever… just as long as I can have as many Yangs as I want… I'll put up with just about anything for that…_ Thorn had rather big plans ahead of her. Lots of places to visit… … … lots of Yangs to steal…

Deep in the back of her mind, Thorn almost heard the sound of a small child crying. She drove it away, though, leaving only blessed silence.

 _Yang… I'm coming for ya, babe. Heh heh heh…_

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TO

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CONTINUED

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 **Author's Note: Yep, I just did that.**

 **I'm sure most of you knew that I was nowhere near done, but I bet none of you saw** _ **that**_ **coming. Yeah, I just blew up the world. Fight me.**

 **At this point in the story, the plot of** _ **Concurrence**_ **will also start at the same time. Yes, that one will have a plot. Shock and awe.**

 **And finally, as a few of you no doubt noticed with the epilogue, I kinda tricked you guys back in chapter 19 – the General Ruby was not actually one of the parodies. She technically wasn't even invited to the party. Now you have some idea why… and we** _ **will**_ **see those guys again.**

…

 **(Temporary A/N: Since this is one of the best stopping points I've ever written, I will do just that. I've left** _ **Worth a Thousand Words**_ **alone for far too long now, so I will shift my attention back to that one for a few months. Don't worry – I will return to this one when I'm ready.** **)**

 **=^w^=**


	22. The Reunion

Hey look… I got it out early! Merry Christmas, y'all!

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 **Forward:**  
 **Another Note From The Author**

 **First off, welcome! If you've just reached this chapter after binge reading the previous 21 chapters,** _ **please**_ **take my advice – take a break. Go outside and take a walk, go watch a movie, or even go take a nap. Step away for a bit. Trust me… it'll be worth it. I intended for the next part of the story to follow a short break, anyway.**

 **The point of this chapter is to deliver a large amount of new information in one shot – that's why it's basically two chapters in one. It also establishes what are essentially the 'rules' for the rest of the story. Most of them, anyway.**

 **Important note: Starting this chapter, I've upped the rating to M. I haven't adjusted anything in previous chapters, though – the rough stuff starts here.**

 **Two final notes: First, as stated in** _ **Concurrence**_ **chapter 12, I'm now adding nicknames to each of the worlds in addition to the numbers. For clarity. Second, this chapter contains a fair bit of strong language (that will be true for pretty much the rest of the story, btw).**

 **Shutting up, now. On with the show!**

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Previously on _Paradigm of the Rose:_

The battle is over. Countless hordes of the Creatures of Grimm have been annihilated by the surprising power of Ruby Rose. The world is safe at last. With the peace secured, the Ruby Army is sent home without incident and the Ruby Squad says its goodbyes.

Once they leave, life seems to return to normal for the four teens of team RWBY, but there was one problem… only three teens remained.

Ruby had vanished.

Moments later, Beacon and the city of Vale were engulfed in nothingness. The entire world simply became… void. All seemed lost.

But a glimmer of hope remained…

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_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

 _A tiny, trumpet-like fanfare rang out from Yang's pocket._

" _What was that?" the black-haired faunus boy asked as Yang glanced at her scroll. That was not a sound the blonde brawler was familiar with. The other boys of team RWBY glanced at it as well, their curiosity piqued._

 _Yang's brow furrowed as she read the words: "Lifeline… Protocol…? There's a button here that says 'confirm' …some kind of new app, I guess?"_

" _Nothing_ I've _ever heard of," Yang's male counterpart added. The male Blake stood next to him, looking a bit concerned. The male Weiss was acting exactly like the Weiss that Yang knew in how he was aggressively ignoring the overall mood of the group. He was, however, keeping close to the young team leader._

 _Red was the only one who expressed any fear in that moment. "I dunno, Yang… Carmine gave you that scroll, right? I think we can all assume that we don't know ANYTHING about what it can do."_

" _Whaddya mean?"_

" _It said 'Lifeline' right? I'm betting it's a program to send you back home… or something."_

" _Hmm… maybe you're right. This sure_ feels _like a closing scene… heh…" The blonde brushed her fingers through her hair nervously as she glanced around at the group of four boys._

" _Welp…_ just in case _this is goodbye, you boys behave yourselves, ya hear? Big Sis knows where you sleep…"_

 _All four gave a collective gulp._

 _Red came forward and shook Yang's free hand, nervously saying, "Y-y-you take care of yourself… Yang."_

" _You too, little bro…"_

 _With that said, she hit the 'confirm' button, and…_

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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Yang suddenly found herself in a pitch-black area.

"This doesn't look like home…" she muttered under her breath.

Straining her ears, all Yang could hear was the faint sound of an air conditioning system running. Her own breathing seemed muffled, which suggested that she was inside a small room. Her eyes slowly began to adjust and Yang started to make out tiny LED lights scattered throughout the space, perfectly normal for a bedroom. Eventually she found a dimly-lit digital clock in one corner that read 6:10. There was nothing to indicate AM or PM.

In truth, it only looked pitch-black at first because Yang's eyes were adjusted for full daylight. She had been outside moments ago.

Yang Xiao Long had just spent the last three weeks with the male version of her little sister, Ruby – a young man simply called Red – but suddenly found herself pulled out of his world as unexpectedly as when she'd first arrived. And now she was in a dark room that seemed empty at first…

But then an angry voice whispered from behind her, _"What are you doing here, Xiao Long?"_

Yang started to turn around, but the sensation of a hard, pointy object pressed into the small of her back caused her to stop. Her hands went up automatically.

More hissing, _"Don't turn around, just walk forward."_

Yang wanted to argue, but decided to just do as the voice commanded. The blonde carefully stepped forward, trying not to trip, with no clue where she was going.

That voice had just a trace of a familiar accent, but Yang couldn't place it with only a whisper. She really wanted to ask about it, but the jagged object pressed harder into her back, causing her to reconsider. She didn't feel like getting stabbed today.

" _Stop."_

In the next instant Yang was blinded by a brilliant light in front of her. She threw her arms over her face to shield her eyes just as her mysterious captor gave her a mighty shove. The blonde toppled forward and nearly landed on her face.

Yang quickly regained her feet and whipped her head around to growl at the stranger, " _Hey_ you little-" but the door had already shut again by the time she found it.

The door _slid_ shut. Like the door of a sci-fi spaceship. A little paper sign with a cute drawing of a bunny was stuck behind the number plate, likely to help identify the owner of the room itself, nut it told her nothing.

Yang blinked, then slowly looked around. It _appeared_ as though she was in the hallway of the Beacon dormitories, but… something was strange about it. She stood to her feet, dusting herself off from the tumble, then made her way to the window at the end of the hall… only to find herself completely breathless.

She was indeed at Beacon Academy… but it looked like she was in the _distant future_.

She recognized most of the buildings visible from her vantage point, but there were new glass-enclosed walkways spanning the gaps between many of them. A vast network of high-speed trams linked most of the largest buildings and, as far as she could tell, allowed a much faster transit into the city beyond. Vale, by her estimation, looked at least double the size that she remembered.

The fact that it was raining did little to dampen the impact of the sight. Yang had to bend down and pick her jaw up off the floor.

If this was the future for Vale and Beacon, it was a damn good one. Seriously.

As she stared, Yang thought back to Red's world – that Beacon was nearly identical to her own, but if anything actually _was_ different, Yang certainly couldn't tell. In her defense, she had been rather …distracted.

Staying with a team of four boys – all of them good-looking, by the way – had a way of occupying most of Yang's attention.

And they liked lazing around the dorm room without any shirts on.

Oh yes… … … she was _quite_ distracted.

Somewhere behind her came the _bing_ of the elevator bell, followed by a muttering voice, "…don't know what the big deal is… she _knows_ I have a lot of work to do…" Yang turned to see who it was and got the second shock of the day.

It was Ruby.

A much older, worn-out Ruby.

The woman stood a few inches taller than Yang, with Ruby's signature dark red hair hanging down just past her shoulders… though it was more disheveled and unkempt than it used to be, with a few strands of grey now scattered throughout the mass. Her silver eyes sat above dark bags and was bookended by a small amount of wrinkles. A burned-down cigarette butt dangled from chapped lips.

Most telling to Yang, however, was the long white lab coat and the wire-frame glasses. She _knew_ this version of Ruby, though age rendered her almost unrecognizable.

"… … …Carmine?"

The older woman stopped dead at the sound of that name, her eyes wide as she beheld Yang standing by the window. Yang was usually bad at reading emotions in other people, but even _she_ could see that Carmine's face was riddled with both shock and disbelief.

Carmine shot across the short distance between them in the blink of an eye – literally – as she quickly gave Yang a thorough once-over. Her hands were trembling the entire time.

Yang tried to say, "Hey, what are you-"

" _Shh!_ _No talkie_ … not yet… Let me look at you…!"

Finally Carmine pulled her scroll from her coat pocket, but her hands were trembling so badly she almost dropped it. She hit a few buttons, muttered, "Hold still," then held it up to Yang's face.

The device beeped. Carmine gazed at the readout, then back at Yang, then at the readout again. Her look was now one of intense relief. "1802… 1802… it's really you… you're…" she said between gasps.

Yang, cool as can be, reached up and plucked the cigarette butt from Carmine's mouth, then held it up and said, "Really, sis? These things are gonna kill- _HRK!"_ but got cut off as the Mad Scientist tackled her in a mighty hug.

"I thought you were dead… I thought I… lost you guys… oh _gods…"_

Odd… she hadn't been gone _that_ long, had she? And why did Carmine look like she'd aged a good ten years? None of this made sense.

But then, with Carmine the Mad Scientist, nothing _ever_ made sense.

"Alright, _alright_ … I'm right here. You can let go of me now," Yang tried to pat the woman's back to comfort her, which wasn't easy with her arms pinned. "Seriously, let go… you smell like smoke."

Carmine pulled back and wiped her eyes, somehow moved to tears by meeting Yang again. "Sorry," she said in a slightly stronger voice than before. "A lot's happened since I last saw you guys. Are the others here, too? Weiss? Blake?"

"I think we got separated back there," Yang shrugged. "I haven't seen anyone since… _that_ happened."

Dark red eyebrows furrowed as silver eyes darted back and forth. "Wait… the Lifeline Protocol… by the gods, how could I forget about _that?!"_ She slapped herself in the forehead as she cried out.

"I had a feeling that was one of yours," Yang commented dryly.

Carmine looked back at the blonde, and Yang could now see the old spark back in her eyes. She hadn't realized it was missing before now. "I have so many questions for you, so many things to find out, so many new numbers to calculate…"

Her scroll beeped again, and Carmine quickly read what it said… but then her face morphed from a look of excitement to a look of _oh-shit._

"I… um… I just remembered why I came up here in the first place… um…" The Mad Scientist was suddenly at a loss for words. "Head over to my lab and wait for me… I, uh… I'll be a few minutes. And don't touch anything 'til I get there."

"And how the _hell_ am I supposed to find this 'lab' of yours?" Yang asked irritably. "Last I checked, Beacon Academy didn't have it's own _zip code!"_

In response, Carmine spoke to the ceiling, "Path to Main Lab… Visitor."

A brightly-lit yellow line suddenly appeared on the floor leading to the elevator. Or maybe it was _in_ the floor? All Yang could see was that it vanished behind her as she walked along it. "Oh…"

"The elevator knows where to go and the path continues from there. I've got a pot of coffee by the terminal if you want some," Carmine added, then turned towards the door Yang had been so rudely shoved out of and gulped.

The door once again _slid_ open, revealing a black space beyond. "Here we go…" she muttered before stepping in. The door slid shut behind her.

Yang blinked, unmoving. She was still trying to process everything she'd seen in the last few minutes.

A futuristic Vale and Beacon Academy.

Carmine's lab just downstairs.

Carmine herself.

That could only mean one thing… Yang had somehow found her way to Carmine's home world. Not her own. Damn.

But that was a good thing. If _anyone_ could answer her questions, it was the mad scientist version of Ruby Rose. The one who _started_ this whole mess.

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 **PARADIGM OF THE ROSE**

 **Chapter 22:**  
 **The Reunion**

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 _Designation: Remnant-5815_

 _Status: Cultural advancement progressing at an accelerated rate. Environment stable. Economy stable. No problems detected._

 _Condition: Green_

 _Recommendation: Have a nice day._

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…

The yellow path really did lead to a massive computer laboratory on the second floor of the building. At least, Yang _assumed_ it was massive. With everything she'd seen so far, it could have been seen as 'standard size' by comparison.

For the first several minutes of her visit, the blonde simply looked around in awe. Numerous giant monitors took up the whole of one wall, while dozens of space-age gizmos and gadgets filled the rest of the room. A number of glass containers in one corner caught her eye – Yang saw what looked like clear glass Dust crystals within them, like nothing she had ever seen before.

"Those are my Resonators," Carmine said as she calmly walked in. A fresh cigarette now adorned the side of her mouth, the end glowing faintly. "They're the main reason I've come as far as I did. They power most everything in here, including my transport devices."

Yang was getting dizzy from looking around so much. "Gods… so much tech… _brain… melting…"_

"Good to see you haven't changed," Carmine said with a grin. She poured herself some coffee from a nearby carafe, then offered Yang a mug which was eagerly accepted. "You were sent to …Red's world, if I remember right. How long were you there for?"

Yang took a slurp as she thought, then answered, "I think close to three weeks…"

Carmine choked on her drink, _"Pfft_ \- …Three _weeks?_ That's all…?"

"Uh… it might have been a bit longer, but yeah."

The Mad Scientist sat down at her workstation and rubbed the sides of her head wearily. "I will never get used to this time displacement phenomenon. Three goddamn _weeks?"_ She took a shaky puff, blowing the smoke up and into a corner where a ventilation fan rapidly whisked it away.

Yang was getting confused. "Is that bad?"

Carmine sighed before she answered, "Yang… after everyone went home, I came back here to find that your timeline had vanished. That was three _years_ ago."

This time it was Yang who choked on her coffee. _Vanished?_ Three _years?_ What the crispy crap?!

A new voice buzzed over the intercom, _[Hey boss…? You might wanna check camera 14… you're not gonna believe this.]_

Carmine replied tiredly, "Nora, you'd be surprised what I'll believe right now. What is it?"

Yang blinked, more confused than ever. _Nora?_

 _[Oh, is that… hey Yang! Did you grow your hair back out?]_

"Focus, Nora. Camera 14?"

 _[Oh yeah… it's Blake! I don't know how, but it looks like our old kitty friend got herself stuck on the roof. Didn't trigger any of the sensors...]_

Within moments, Carmine had the camera feed in question brought up on one of the monitors – and it showed none other than Blake Belladonna herself. She was clinging to the top of one of the school's spires, in the middle of the pouring rain, and looking royally pissed about it.

"Nora, go bring her inside please. And get her dried off."

 _[Roger!]_

Yang watched her partner on the screen with some amusement. There was no audio feed, but both women could somewhat read her lips. "Heh… mad as a wet cat. Oh, wow… I didn't know she even _knew_ that word…"

"Better get her some strong tea as well, Nora…"

…

Fifteen minutes later, Blake had joined them in the lab. She had a blanket draped over her shoulders and a steaming mug of tea in both hands. Her hair was still soaked and her ribbon was flat against her head as she shivered slightly. Yang tried using a bit of her semblance to warm Blake up by rubbing her shoulders lightly from behind. It seemed to help.

Carmine was rapidly typing things into her computer while mumbling to herself. "…1802… … …appeared at these coordinates… … …difference of half an hour or so… … …Lifeline Protocol sent her to…"

Yang slowed her rubbing and quietly said, "You alright?"

Blake nodded slightly, taking a sip of her tea. She didn't speak, though.

"She says we all got sent to separate worlds, and I was with Red. So… I'm assuming you were with Rose, right?"

Another nod, this time accompanied by a blush. Yang grinned – there was a good story behind that blush. Hopefully she'd get to hear it soon.

"How long?"

"Two months." Blake just managed to hide any emotion from her voice as she responded. "Give or take a few days."

"Was Ruby there? … _Our_ Ruby?"

"No… sorry."

Yang sighed, then slid another chair around next to Blake's. She sat down and rubbed her partner's back companionably.

"I'm glad you're alright, Blake," Yang said quietly.

"You too," Blake responded.

They spent the next several minutes just sitting next to each other, enjoying the company. It hadn't been that long for either of them, yet it felt like ages.

The last time they'd seen each other, both teens were sure they were going to die. Their world was literally collapsing around them. Grey walls of nothingness engulfing the city and the school. The ground rumbling like it was going to blow up. It was well beyond scary.

But then they were taken away by Carmine's magical scrolls.

Yang had found herself smack in the middle of the Breach all over again – only this time, she was joined by an all-male version of team RWBY, led by Red himself. She'd spent the following three weeks getting to know them all, as well as trying to help Red get over his secret fear…

 _[Hey boss… got another one! Ice Queen on camera 3!]_ Nora's voice interrupted Yang's thoughts rather abruptly. Still… at least it was good news. _[Why is everyone so young-looking all of a sudden? That's not fair!]_ Her voice carried a pout.

"Weiss?" Blake's ribbon perked up at the nickname.

"Camera 3… that's the cafeteria…" Carmine was already bringing up the feed on the screen as Yang and Blake reached her.

The cafeteria was empty, so the sight of Weiss standing alone amidst the tables was rather jarring. It was definitely her, though… no one else could pull off the full-white ensemble like she could.

A few more keystrokes, and Carmine said, "Yep, it's her… 1802 energy signature confirmed."

Yang sighed with relief as Blake gave her a light hug. That was three of the four members of team RWBY all alive and accounted for. Now all that was left was to find Ruby herself. Maybe she would just pop up like everyone else had been doing…?

"Wait a minute…" Carmine stared at the readouts as they started to change. "Something's wrong. She's getting _more_ agitated."

"More… what now?" Yang asked blandly.

"More _upset,"_ Blake offered. "She _should_ recognize where she is as Beacon, but…"

The small white figure was, indeed, looking more upset by the second. She was looking around rapidly like she'd lost something, her body language giving away her panic. Like last time they didn't have an audio feed, so none of them could hear what she was saying.

But then Weiss reared her head back and screamed.

There was a flash of blue-white light, then the camera went to white noise.

All three women felt the distant _boom_ shudder through the floor.

"Oh _crap…!"_ Yang was already running for the door, the other two right on her heels.

…

The doors to the cafeteria had been blown off their hinges by the time they reached the building – but not by any explosion. Large, jagged spikes of ice had impaled them, ripping them clean off the frames.

Yang had to punch a path through the ice before they could reach the inside, where they found Weiss still screaming bloody murder. Waves of Aura continued to emanate off of her in bursts. Those waves of power seemed to be building up the ice. It was almost like she had lost control of her Aura.

"Weiss! _Chill out!"_ Yang cried over the heiress' screams.

Blake slapped her on the arm for such a mistimed pun. "Ass."

Yang couldn't help but grin, "It was there, I had to use it."

The heiress whipped her head around to glare at the two teens, ice-blue eyes bloodshot and wide with pure rage. _"WHERE IS SHE?! WHERE?! WHERE IS MY MARIGOLD…?_ _ **WHERE IS SHE?!**_ _"_

Whoa. Both teens recoiled at her words. This was _not_ how Weiss ever spoke before. Something was very wrong.

And who or what was her 'Marigold?'

Carmine came in behind them, staring dumbly at the ice and muttering something about rampant Aura. As soon as Weiss spotted Carmine, she moved – the Mad Scientist was pinned to one of the nearby stalagmites by the surprisingly strong hands of the heiress as she shrieked,

" _YOU! DID_ _ **YOU**_ _DO THIS?! LIGHT BLIND YOU, TAKE ME BACK! TAKE ME BACK TO MY FAMILY! TO MY HOME! MY MARIGOLD! MY SAM!_ _ **TAKE ME BACK TO MY FAMILY, BURN YOU! ! !**_ _"_

The pure, unfiltered rage flowed off her even more clearly than the Aura that continued to form more ice around them. Yang looked to Blake for answers but got only an identical look of confusion. Marigold? Sam?

"She's lost it…" Blake muttered.

"Weiss, you _are_ home," Yang tried to say between Weiss' rantings.

Just as Weiss turned to shout at Yang, a new hand shot out from behind her and touched the heiress' forehead. _"DON'T CALL ME… THAT… … That's_ _not_ … _my_ … … name… … … anymore… …" she said just before she collapsed.

Weiss Schnee was caught by a grown version of Velvet Scarlatina. Where the _hell_ did she come from?

Yang stared as the rabbit faunus pressed a few fingers to Weiss' neck to check her pulse, then fixed those chocolate brown eyes on Yang and Blake. "You two, with me. We need to get her stabilized."

The two teens shook themselves out of their trance as Velvet picked up the heiress and started jogging out of the room. They followed close, trusting that the tall woman knew where she was going.

Neither of them looked back to see Carmine collapse to her knees as the ice quickly disintegrated around her.

And neither of them noticed the distant, haunted look in her eyes.

"…What have I done?" she murmured to nobody.

…

"What did you do?" Yang asked after Velvet had Weiss hooked up to the medical devices in the clinic.

"It's a little …talent of mine," she replied. "Several years ago, I discovered that I have strong… _empathic_ abilities. Like, I can read people's emotions, and to a point I can also 'tweak' them a little. If I understood the details right, you guys are still one or two years away from finding that out about me."

"So you 'tweaked' her into sleeping?" Blake asked with a small level of wonder. She rubbed her shoulders shakily at the memory of Weiss' anger.

"Something like that. It involved 'relaxing' her completely so her body would naturally fall asleep."

Yang rubbed her temples wearily, then sighed, "Okay… first Nora works here, now you're here and you're some kind of psychic… but where are _we?_ Where's team RWBY?"

Velvet sighed, "Uh… it's a long story, and I don't think I'm the one who should tell you. I'll let Ruby explain later."

"Ruby… you mean Carmine?" Blake asked.

"Oh yeah… I forgot about that. Yeah, you guys called her Carmine." Velvet sighed again, then rubbed the back of her neck. Yang noticed how weary the woman was with that movement. She didn't have as many wrinkles around her eyes as Carmine did, but there was evidence that it wouldn't be long before they started to appear. "The team… they… had a bit of a falling out a few years ago."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Like I said, I'll let Ruby explain."

All at once, Yang realized something. She finally recognized that accent. "Hey, wait a minute… were you the one who… threw me out of that room earlier?"

Velvet flinched, a move that spoke volumes. "Um… yeah, that was me. Sorry if I was a bit rough. In my defense, you did appear in the middle of my _bedroom,_ Yang. Woke me up from a good nap, too…"

"Sorry about that."

"Don't sweat it. Ruby explained what happened, so we're all good." The rabbit faunus smiled warmly, a look that more than confirmed her forgiveness. "I honestly thought you were the _older_ … you."

"The… older…?"

"On top of that, I sleep naked. It would have been very awkward if you _had_ turned around, you know…"

Both Yang and Blake sputtered and turned bright red. Velvet ignored them and continued checking up on Weiss.

Yang just barely registered the sight of something sparkling on Velvet's finger before the room's other faunus spoke up. "Where _is_ Carmine, anyway?" Blake looked around curiously.

That was the moment that they finally noticed that the Mad Scientist was nowhere in sight. Velvet's brow furrowed, then she gazed off to one side. After concentrating a moment, she breathed, _"… …Oh no…"_

The rabbit faunus gave Weiss one last check, then barked, "Blake, stay here and keep an eye on her. Yang, you're with me. Hurry – we have _no time."_

They were already jogging out the door as Yang asked, "No time for what?"

Velvet chose not to answer, but focused her attention on a message she was typing into her scroll as she ran for the elevator. Yang felt her heart drop as they made their way to… wherever it was they were going.

She was getting another one of her bad feelings – and by this point, she was learning to trust that particular instinct.

…

The rain was still falling outside, but not very hard. It was enough to quickly soak the blonde as she and Velvet stepped out onto the roof of the building.

Carmine stood before them, standing on the edge of the roof. She was facing the drop-off, her body swaying slightly. Her movements felt _wrong_ to Yang. Like the woman wasn't in control of her own body.

"Ruby…" Velvet started saying carefully, her ears bent down to shield her eyes from the rain, "What are you doing?"

"I've made her suffer…"

The dry tone of voice sent chills down Yang's spine. This was bad. This was very bad. Even Velvet seemed to feel how cold the redhead was.

"I've made… _everyone_ suffer…"

Carmine didn't bother turning around, but it didn't take much for them to hear how broken and sad she sounded. How… depressed.

"And now… _I'm going to end it all_ … and save the rest of them… from my meddling…"

"Ruby, we talked about this…" Velvet crossed her arms in annoyance. "No one's jumping off any roofs today, or any day. How many times do we have to have this conversation?"

Yang's eyes grew wide. _'How many times?!'_ How often had this happened that she was now _used to it?_

Carmine finally turned around and Yang could see how red her eyes had become. Even beneath her soaked hair, she was a complete wreck. "You don't understand, Velvs… no one does… I caused her so much pain… I can't… _I can't take this anymore!"_

Velvet's arms twitched, and Yang finally noticed how hard the rabbit faunus was holding herself back from jumping after the woman. "Ruby…" she said carefully.

" _NO!_ You won't stop me this time! I'm really gonna-"

 _ **BAM!**_

The moment Carmine turned back to the edge of the roof, a metallic fist collided with her face. The woman was sent flying backwards, a stream of blood flying from her damaged nose. Her glasses landed a few feet away, lenses cracked. Velvet was next to her in a heartbeat, checking the damage and wiping off the blood.

Yang barely had time to process any of this before an eerily familiar voice spoke: "You're really gonna _what,_ little sister?"

An older Yang Xiao Long stood before the stunned trio.

The years had not been kind to this woman – her right arm was robotic all the way up to her shoulder and her face bore quite a few 'city miles,' as Dad would have called them. A single scar stood out most prominently across her face, diagonal over the bridge of her nose. Most shocking to the younger Yang, however, was the fact that the older Yang's hair was _shoulder length._

Wow… someone must have died a horrible death for _that_ to happen…

Other than those differences, the older Yang wore a sleeveless outfit of mostly black leather, including one fingerless glove on the left hand, cargo pants and a pair of combat boots. She also looked royally _pissed._ The raindrops hitting her short hair were evaporating from the heat it gave off, causing a small cloud of steam to form around her head. Her eyes shone with a blood-red glow.

"So lucky you showed up in time…" Velvet said as she checked over Carmine. The relief in her voice was tangible.

The older Yang crossed her arms and grunted, "Lucky for _her_ … if she _had_ jumped and somehow lived, I would have fucking killed her myself."

After hearing _that,_ the younger Yang couldn't stop herself. "Isn't that going too far? She just tried to commit suicide, she needs _help!_ Not more _anger!"_

Older Yang finally turned to look at Younger Yang, her expression shifting into one of stunned shock. The two blondes locked gazes for several seconds.

" _Fuck me…_ she really did it, didn't she…?" Older Yang quietly growled.

By this point Velvet had Carmine in her arms and was making her way to the stairs. "Yang Xiao Long, meet Yang Xiao Long. Now if you two will excuse me, I have to get her dried off and patched up. Both of you are welcome to join us in the clinic when you're done here."

"… … …" Older Yang watched them until the door closed, then turned back to Younger Yang and said, "So… what's your story? She kidnap you for one of her wacky experiments?" Though clearly more calm than before, Older Yang's eyes remained red. Not a good sign.

Younger Yang shrugged before heading for the door, saying, "I still haven't figured that out yet, but I'm going inside to dry off before I catch a cold."

Just before heading inside, the younger teen bent down and picked up Carmine's forgotten glasses. She frowned at the large crack across the lens. Shaking her head to dry it a bit, the blonde took them inside and closed the door behind her.

"…How did I ever live with all that hair?" the short-haired woman muttered to herself.

Silence reigned on the rooftop. The older, taller, and more grizzled Yang Xiao Long was left standing alone. Most of the rain slid off her leather outfit, but she still became more and more damp as her mind raced.

A younger version of herself had arrived from another time… possibly another world entirely… and she was still mostly… undamaged.

"I can't believe she did it… _damn_ … this changes everything. Maybe I can help them avoid it… this time."

She remained on the roof for a further five minutes before also heading inside.

…

Two hours later, all six women sat or stood quietly around Weiss' bed in the clinic. All were clean and mostly intact.

Weiss was conscious, but quiet as the grave. Her gaze never lingered long on anybody's face before returning to her lap. Blake and Yang were both seated and sipping from their various beverage choices.

Velvet was carefully finishing her care of Carmine's busted nose, while Carmine herself sat meekly in a distant chair. Her silver eyes darted towards the elder Yang occasionally. That Yang was standing by the door with her arms crossed, looking like a bouncer – like she was there to make sure no one left the room. Her robotic arm gleamed in the fluorescent lights.

Every so often Carmine would reach up to her face like she was ready to take a puff from a cigarette, but then shakily put her hand back down. No smoking in the clinic. When the hell did she start _that_ habit, anyway?

Weiss finally broke the silence, speaking slowly and carefully, " _Where_ … am… I…?"

Keeping a neutral tone, Carmine cleared her throat and replied, "Remnant-5815… _my_ home world."

A pause, then, "And… _what…_ happened… t-t-to us…?"

Everyone in the room was watching Carmine as the woman carefully replied, "I still don't know for sure, but something caused your world to collapse. Three of your scrolls successfully activated my 'Lifeline Protocol' and got you guys out of there in time. Once my system confirmed your safety, it automatically pulled you all here… though I'm not sure why it took almost _three freaking years_ to do so."

Blake choked on her tea. This was the first she'd heard of the time difference, but another detail jumped out at her first, "Three…? What about the fourth? What about Ruby?"

"All I could find was an error message. Her scroll didn't activate properly, so I have no idea where she is… or if she's still alive…"

"… _She… … …_ _ **is**_ _… … …alive…"_ Weiss whispered with finality, ending any and all debates over the fate of their young team leader.

Several minutes passed by without any words exchanged. No one wanted to break the silence first.

Yang finally spoke up, asking, "So why _was_ there such a large difference in the times we spent away? You say three years passed here, but for me it was more like three weeks. Blake said it was two months for her. And Weiss was out… how long?"

Everyone in the room turned to look at the heiress, waiting for her to speak. Silence reigned for a few minutes as she considered her answer… but no one expected what came next:

" _T-t-ten years… three weeks… and six d-d-days."_

Blake was lucky enough to be between sips, but Yang had a mouthful of coffee that was quickly spit out. Even the grown-ups in the room were not prepared for such a … _large_ number.

Ten goddamn years? No wonder she freaked out when she got here – after _that_ much time, she probably forgot all about Beacon.

Yang spoke, acting on a sudden idea, "So… if I was with Red and Blake was with Rose, that means you were with Sapphire, right?"

Weiss gave the blonde an empty stare, looking right through her. "I… … …d-d-don't remember anyone… … … by th-th-that name… … … I d-d-don't remember… … … _anyone's_ name… … … b-b-besides you g-g-guys… … … and Ruby…"

Yang and Blake exchanged a confused look. How was _that_ possible…?

No one spoke for a moment as Weiss took another deep, shaky breath and said, "That all… … … really d-d-did happen… … … right? It wasn't j-j-just some …fever d-d-dream?" Her slender hands trembled in her lap.

"Weiss…" Carmine seemed shaken as she processed what the heiress was saying.

"I mean… I spend t-t-ten long years letting go of my old life… … … my f-f-friends… … … even my _name_ … … … then all at once I wake up… … … _right back where I_ _ **flaming**_ _started…"_

The young Schnee choked on her words as she continued, "I grew up… met the man of my d-d-dreams… brought a ch-ch-child into the world… and I finally realized what it meant to just _be c-c-content with my life_ … … … then all of a sudden, _it's ALL GONE…!"_

Yang was on her feet in an instant as Weiss started shouting, ready to grab hold of her arms if she needed to be restrained. Velvet gave her a _wait-a-moment_ gesture, then said, "Weiss… tell us. Don't hold it in."

"My name… is _Snow Rosewood._ Wife of Samuel Rosewood, mother of Marigold Rosewood. Proud citizen of… of the town of… of… _**OH LIGHT IT'S ALREADY FADING! ! !"**_

Now they _did_ grab hold as Weiss started flailing and crying out in a shrieking voice. Velvet quickly grabbed the side of her head and did her trick again, and the heiress soon slumped down into unconsciousness. A few lingering tears slid down her cheeks and hit her jacket.

Yang had to take a breath to calm herself before asking Velvet, _"Gods_ … Will she be okay?"

"I don't know for sure," the rabbit faunus replied. "I've never dealt with mental trauma of this magnitude before. I'll do what I can, but I think we can expect a few permanent mental scars."

Blake looked ready to sick up. "I can't _imagine_ what she must be feeling right now…"

Velvet, who actually _could,_ looked up at her with a flat gaze and said, "You really don't want to."

Her own throat tried to clench up as Yang gazed down at the still form of the fencer of team RWBY. She gently reached down and wiped one of the girl's tears away, then looked up to say, "So what happens now?"

Carmine opened her mouth to answer…

"Before we get into that…" a new voice suddenly spoke from the doorway, "why don't we start with you explaining something to me?"

Rain, the ancient Ruby look-alike, had walked in. She was staring at Carmine as she gave her challenge.

Yang blinked. She was still here? Forgot all about _that_ one…

"And what could the _mighty immortal_ possibly need me to explain?" the Mad Scientist replied with a sarcastic sneer.

As per usual, Rain said nothing – she merely walked forward and handed Carmine her scroll, opened to a recent photograph. Yang couldn't see it from her vantage point, but she _could_ see Carmine's reaction to it. It was rare to see a jaw drop so far…

"What is it?" Blake asked.

Rain slowly panned the device around the room, giving each member of the group a good long look at the image. It showed a room, likely Rain's own room, and in the center of the floor was a small woman in pajamas laying partly underneath a thick comforter, apparently asleep. There was also a pillow under her head, but no sign of any mattress or bedframe at all.

Yang felt her gut start to tense up. It may not have been Ruby, but she _knew_ that pink and brown hairstyle.

Neopolitan.

…

"As soon as I took the photo, I made sure she was tied up. I'm not _that_ stupid, you know…" the ancient Ruby walked around the angry midget at a safe distance as she explained. Neo was now fully awake (and mysteriously fully-dressed) and bound with a long rope on one side of the room. Her pink and brown eyes were glaring daggers at each of the other occupants of the room. Her umbrella sat just out of reach.

Yang and Blake had followed Rain, along with Carmine. Velvet offered to stay with Weiss in the clinic, and the older Yang remained with them.

Carmine simply stared at the small, angry woman in a complete stupor, muttering under her breath. Yang only caught the odd word or two, "… … ..didn't even… … … never intended for… … … someone's working behind my… … …"

Rain stood in front of the scientist and spoke, dragging the taller woman out of her trance, "I thought we agreed that you would _warn_ me if you were going to transport anyone into my room? What happened?"

" _I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"_ Carmine roared suddenly.

Rain simply blinked, likely since she wasn't expecting that reaction. She turned her silver eyes back over to Neo, seeming to study her for a moment.

Yang had her arms crossed as she growled, "Why did _she_ appear and not Ruby? How is that fair in any way?"

So many questions, and hardly any of them with any answers. Yang's head was starting to feel like an overfilled balloon – a few more blows and she'd just …pop.

After a few minutes of no one doing anything at all, Carmine suddenly jerked her head up. Her eyes had a new spark as she muttered, "…Wait a fucking _minute."_

Rain's room had a smaller version of Carmine's computer built into the walls so the girl could work on various projects on her own, and it was here that Carmine rushed over and quickly logged on. Rain didn't bother to protest.

Carmine's fingers were an absolute _blur_ as she powered into the database, looking for something important. Yang almost thought she saw smoke rising from the keys as the Mad Scientist hit Mach speed.

"Ah- _HAH!_ There it is!" She suddenly cried out, causing everyone else to jump.

A readout was currently displayed on the monitor, but half the people in the room had no idea how to translate it.

"Back when I… when _we…_ got back from you guys' world, this was what the computer displayed back in my lab. See this? Lifeline Protocol…" she pointed to a few lines among the code where those two words were written.

Yang glanced at her own scroll, remembering those same words displayed just before she was transported here. So Red was right – hitting that _was_ the reason she was suddenly pulled here.

Strange to think that she could have easily avoided hitting the 'confirm' button and simply stayed in that alternate world for the rest of her life.

Like Weiss almost did…

"I created the Lifeline Protocol as an emergency measure to keep you guys safe. It was designed to transport you to a designated 'safe' timeline in the event that your own became too unstable… or if it collapsed entirely. After that it would wait for you to confirm your location, then it would bring you back here."

Yang noticed Blake taking on a look of realization as Carmine spoke. Apparently she had seen the same 'confirm' button. Now it made sense why it was there. Must have caught her off guard, too.

"But _this_ …" she pointed to another line further down, "was what I wanted to find. _Einherjar_ Protocol."

"Eye-In-Hair-what?"

"I don't know, either… but that's what I intend to find out…" Carmine's fingers once again reached subsonic speeds as the computer fought for it's life to keep up with her. Rain offered the others a dry cookie from her pantry while they waited.

Yang was honestly still reeling from the discovery of Weiss' stay in another world lasting ten freaking years. Then suddenly Neo just… shows up. How much more could the blonde take before she ended up in the bed right next to Weiss? Or better yet, locked in a straight jacket?

" _Dammit!_ I can't get through this firewall without the password!" The tall redhead slammed her fists against the counter in frustration. "That _never_ happens! Someone really doesn't want me to get into this program…!"

Rain calmly walked over and stuck a cookie in Carmine's mouth (who munched it angrily), then said, "Can I try?"

The Ruby-clone slowly hunt-and-pecked 14 keys, then hit Enter. The system gave a pleased _bing._

Yang was the first to loudly say, "This was _your_ fault, then?!"

Followed closely by Carmine who said, "… … …' _Gormality pigs'?"_

Rain calmly turned to answer Yang first, "No, but I have reason to suspect that I had some kind of hand in the program's creation. Logically, I figured I'd try my own password… but I didn't expect it to work first time."

She then turned back to Carmine and said, very seriously, "Don't. Ask."

"Fine, then… shall we?" The older Ruby look-alike pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket with a shaking hand, then held one of the sticks up to Rain. The shorter girl automatically pulled a lighter from her pocket and lit the thing before Carmine stuck it in her mouth and took a deep drag. The tension seemed to melt off the scientist, in spite of the rank smell.

Yang had the clear sense that she was looking at two people who had grown so accustomed to each other's presence that they would have a hard time getting along on their own again. How many long nights of work had they spent together, just like this? What sort of things had they accomplished when they were fully in-sync like they were right now?

The blonde's mind drifted back to the short time she'd spent with Red. The boy was an exceptional fighter and a great guy overall, but she soon found herself feeling… empty while around him. Like he was no longer… _enough_.

She soon realized what was missing – Ruby. She wanted her sister back.

No matter how much confusion and craziness she had to endure, Yang _had_ to know what happened to Ruby. Was she dead? Missing? Lost in the multiverse like they had been up until recently? She _had_ to know.

And Carmine was the key to finding those answers.

By this point in time, Carmine had found what she was looking for. "Okay, so someone created a program that acted similar to my Lifeline Protocol, only this one was based out of _this_ _terminal_ …"

Rain gave a scoff.

"And it seems to have been programed to select a _random group of people._ Wow, this group selection doesn't make ANY sense…"

Yang and Blake gazed upon the list now displayed before them. Seven names and corresponding images were listed next to various four-digit numbers. Neopolitan was, indeed, on this list and set to come right into their midst – destination: Remnant-5815.

Other names on the list gave credence to the idea that it was purely random. Names like _Adam Taurus_ , for example. Why the _hell…?_

"Why would they select Cardin Winchester?" Blake quietly mused to herself as she read the screen. "…Or Penny?"

Suddenly Carmine burst out in a choked laugh, holding her sides and gasping for air. One shaky hand pointed to the last name on the list and the number next to it.

Roman Torchwick.

Remnant-0113

" _Oh gods… GAHAHAHA! That world is just… too perfect… AHAHAHAHA!"_

Yang shared a look of confusion with Blake. Carmine obviously knew which world that was… but why would she think it was _that_ funny?

Just where the hell did Roman Torchwick end up?

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Remnant-0113_  
 _(Chibi World)_

…

That was the exact question Roman asked himself as he looked up at his new surroundings.

He could have, and would have, sworn on all the gods in existence that he was just on the crapper at a run-down motel on the outskirts of Vale mere moments ago. On. The. Crapper.

So how the flying _fuck_ he just get to Beacon Academy? And the front gate, no less?

"AHH! A giant Roman Torchwick!" An annoyingly shrill voice cried out just to the man's left. A _familiar_ voice, too. He groaned as he turned to look.

At first glance, Roman thought he was looking at a seriously distorted version of That Damned Kid In The Red Cloak. Her head looked to be the right size, but the rest of her had shrunk _waaaaay_ down. Standing next to her was the blonde girl of her team, but in a similar state of tiny-body-giant-head. Both were staring at him with big, anime eyes.

Looking back at the school, the tall man finally noticed that the buildings were roughly half their usual size. He felt a little like a giant right now.

The two tiny girls giggled and ran away, leaving the man quite at a loss as to what was going on. It could only be a dream… right? Maybe he just passed out from pushing too hard…?

A pinch of his arm proved otherwise. On the plus side, at least Roman still had his cane with him. If anything tried to piss him off in this weird, super-deformed world, he could just shoot it.

Besides… it might be fun to just walk around and scare those little shits.

* * *

…

…

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

 _Blake woke up slowly, which was very unusual for her – life as a member of the White Fang forced the cat faunus to always sleep with one eye open in case she got attacked. She always slept very lightly._

" _Mmm… Mornin' Blake…" But then a deep voice greeted her from a few inches behind her head, causing her to begin purring in spite of herself._

" _Morning Rose," she replied, then turned around to give the toned redhead a peck on the lips before snuggling back against her underneath the covers. Rose wrapped her arms around the faunus and nuzzled her nose deep in Blake's hair._

 _Ever since Rose had introduced Blake to the rest of team ROCC as 'her girlfriend,' Blake couldn't hold herself back anymore. She already had a hard time keeping her hands to herself, but now that she had_ permission… _dear gods…_

 _It was still a bit depressing to think about the fact that she'd likely never see her_ real _team again, but that was counteracted by the relief that her love for Rose was no longer impossible. If she was to stay here, so be it._

 _Blake had to fight off the memory of Rose's skilled hands from the night before… they couldn't start_ every _day in the throes of passion, after all. She tried to gently scoot herself to the edge of the bed, but two strong arms held her firmly in place._

" _No…" Rose mumbled with a lazy smile. "Bad kitty…"_

 _Wow… could it be they've become a bit_ too _comfortable around each other? …Does an Ursai shit in the woods?_

 _Dammit, now she was making Yang-jokes!_

 _A strange trumpet-like ringtone played into the silence of the dorm room just then, giving the two teens cause to look up in wonder. Neither of them had a ringtone like that… but then Blake remembered that her scroll was still rather new. Probably hers, then._

" _Where did it even go…?" she wondered out loud._

" _I think your clothes went… um… under the bed?" Rose offered._

 _Blake looked back over to her otherworldly girlfriend and gave her a light flick of the nose, then bent down to check. Sure enough, there it was. The faunus grabbed the device and quickly ducked back under the safety of the blankets – it could be rather_ cold _when you're only wearing a pair of panties…_

" _Lifeline Protocol? What's that?" she asked as she read the display._

" _Dunno," Rose replied as she looked over Blake's shoulder. "Looks important, though. Maybe like an update? I get notifications for those all the time, but they're hardly ever worth it…"_

" _I'd better go for it, though. Just in case…"_

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

…

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Remnant-5815_  
 _(Carmine's World)_

…

Blake would continue to regret hitting that damn 'confirm' button for as long as she lived. There was no doubt about that.

But at least she was back with Yang again. _Her_ Yang, not an older version who was far too uncomfortable around her own sister. Out of all the people Blake had known during her life, Yang Xiao Long was one of the very few she could fully trust.

Adam once held that distinction… but that was a lifetime ago.

As the assembled group of displaced travelers watched Carmine dig through the code for answers, Blake thought about many things.

She thought about Rose – obviously – and about how she would miss that very sexy girl. She didn't even get to say goodbye before suddenly appearing, fully clothed, on the tippy-top of one of Beacon's towers. So yes, she cursed the sky. And the rain. And every god she could think of. Who wouldn't?

She tried very hard to _not_ think about the nights she and Rose spent together. Yang would not be able to miss her heavy blushing, so better to avoid that line of thought entirely.

She thought about Weiss, too. In spite of their initial relationship (or lack thereof), Blake thought she and Weiss were finally starting to get along pretty well… at least, before this whole shitstorm kicked in. She knew as well as anybody that people can change a lot in only a few years, so how much did the heiress change given a full _ten?_

And for that matter, why did Weiss still look 17 years old? If she'd aged 10 years, shouldn't she look closer to 27? How was that supposed to make any sense?

And she also thought about the angry midget tied up near the corner. The fact that Neo didn't seem to even _have_ a scroll with her was nonsense. How did she even get here? Someone… or some _thing_ … had ripped her away from their world, disregarding all of the rules.

She blinked as she realized that she hadn't even _questioned_ this Neo's world of origin – somehow she just _knew_ it was the Neo from her own world. Almost like an instinct.

"I suppose I'll have to go clean up this mess… since it seems I'm somewhat responsible…" Rain said as she made her way to a nearby closet.

"No one's blaming you," Carmine said from the console.

" _I_ am…" Yang growled, her arms crossed irately.

"You're not helping," Blake growled back.

Rain emerged holding a small device that looked like a metal bracelet of some sort. "It's alright, Blake," she said as she dusted the thing off. "She's probably right. I've literally been to hundreds of different points in time by now. Maybe thousands. I suspect this _Einherjar_ program is one I haven't actually made yet… but soon will."

Yang groaned and held her head gently.

"This thing," she said as she held up the device, "should make the clean-up process easier. I built it a few years ago, but never really tested it out. It has all the same functions as your transport device, Carmine."

"Say what?" The scientist blinked as she finally turned away from the console, her face a picture of disbelief.

"It's my Portable Lightweight One-piece Transmission Device."

Blake snorted loudly, trying not to laugh too hard.

Rain had built a PLOT device.

Goddammit.

The item in question was built like a wide armband that covered most of the forearm, and had what looked like a computer built into one part of it. The input device consisted of a few odd buttons and a keypad, as well as a narrow LCD display for the numbers.

"With this, I can better control where I go. That, and it _should_ allow me to transport other people… assuming I'm holding onto them tightly enough," Rain explained. "Haven't had much chance to test that part…"

"How the hell did you get the CF322 circuit to fit in _that?"_ Carmine asked with a clear note of incredulity.

"I, uh… might have borrowed the Micro Forge for a while…" Rain answered awkwardly.

"You said that thing was out for repairs! I could have _used_ that!"

In lieu of an answer, Rain merely averted her eyes. Carmine gave a low growl from her chair.

Rain latched the device onto her arm, the began hitting buttons. "Guess I'll start with Torchwick. 0113, right?" She also moved herself to the middle of the room, apparently for the space.

All of a sudden, Neo struck.

Within the span of a second, the pink-and-brown themed girl was on her feet and dashing across the room… right at Rain. She grabbed hold of the ancient Ruby in the instant before the device activated.

Both girls vanished in a burst of light that left two people-shaped afterimages in Blake's eyes.

"That little _shit!"_ Yang growled from beside Blake as she rubbed her own eyes hastily.

There was really nothing anyone could do, so for the next few minutes everyone simply stood there and let the afterimage fade from their vision.

Carmine was more calm than expected as she stood from the console and said, "As much as I'd like to know what just happened, I _know_ Rain. She'll be fine. All we have to do is wait and she'll come back on her own."

Blake stared as the Mad Scientist made her way out of the room. How much trust did the woman have in Rain to be this calm? Blake would never have understood it, no matter how hard they tried to explain.

"I'm worried, too," Yang admitted, "but I'd rather not get left behind." The blonde quickly made her way out of the room, following Carmine. "Place is too big…"

Blake was left alone, staring at the ropes used to keep Neo tied up. Considering whose room this was, she had every reason to believe those ropes hadn't been tied all that tightly. The midget's umbrella was gone, too. Must have grabbed it when she made her move.

Rain was capable of cold-blooded murder – a little act like that would be easy to pull off.

Taking the time to explain how her device worked? Letting everyone see the program readout, including the numbers? Actually being caught off guard? All Blake could see was that Rain _wanted_ Neo to take that device, but didn't want it to look like she was aiding a criminal.

Tricky little thing…

Oh well… no real reason to mull over it now.

…

Night had fallen before any more answers could be given. Yang and Blake had elected to sleep in Weiss' room – they'd spent enough time apart, thank you very much.

The heiress was kept asleep by various medical instruments, but the blonde conked out from sheer exhaustion.

Blake was wide awake.

The bathroom nearest the clinic had a good-sized mirror, giving Blake a perfect tool to examine herself. And what she saw was… a bit disturbing.

During her time with Rose, Blake had battled with… _something_ … that left a few bad cuts on her face. Those cuts were gone. Not just healed… _gone._ There was also a small pimple just under her ear that she'd popped after she got there – it was now back, and completely undamaged.

Add to that the fact that when she vanished from Rose's bed she was almost naked – then she was suddenly fully dressed with ribbon in place once she got here – and the implications were not great.

But there was nothing she could do about that now. Better to try and knock herself out and wait for tomorrow.

Without Rose next to her, though… that might be a challenge. She'd grown used to sleeping in someone's arms. Yang might oblige, but the cat faunus would rather sleep on the goddamn _roof_ than ask for something like that. Maybe another night.

With a deep sigh, Blake shut off the light and went back out. Sleep came slowly, but it finally came.

…

Morning came far too quickly.

"Hey there, champ," Yang said quietly to Weiss, who was awake again. Velvet was currently sitting behind the heiress and gently brushing out her gleaming white hair. Blake wasn't sure if it was the brushing or the close contact with the empath, but Weiss was looking much better than before. Calmer.

"Hey, yourself," the young Schnee replied mildly. Her voice hadn't changed at all, but the brunette detected a fair degree of extra warmth in her words.

Blake spoke next, saying, "How do you feel?"

Weiss glanced at the faunus, then closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "I… … … still don't have an answer for that. If anything, I feel like I've just woken up from a ten-year coma."

"If it makes you feel any better, I think me and Blake can … _kinda_ understand how you feel. Once we got here, it was like nothing had happened." Yang's tone was that of an empathizing friend. "It sucks."

"Agreed," Blake added. "All I have from my time with Rose is the memories. No proof that any of it was real."

"Proof," Weiss said, almost too quiet to hear. "That's what I need… _proof._ Something tangible… so I can be sure it _was_ real… that I _didn't_ dream them up…"

"Weiss?"

"If you don't mind," she calmly stated, "I would prefer that you call me Snow. It's the name I've lived with all this time, after all. I let go of the name Weiss Schnee half a decade ago."

"That might be… tough," Yang grimaced.

"If you're okay with something _small…"_ Carmine said as she made her way into the room, "I think I can help with the 'proof' part…"

The Mad Scientist looked like she hadn't slept a wink, and she was now bearing a tray of fresh coffee in a carafe, as well as a steaming tea kettle and numerous empty cups and mugs.

"First, I should explain something important. You guys have probably noticed it by now, but you are all under the effects of what I call the 'Persistent Status Phenomenon' …which basically means that every time you transfer to a new world – be it this one or the ones you were each in – you arrive in the exact same state that you left your original world in. Any previous changes are negated once you arrive at your next destination. It's like a 'save state' in a video game."

Yang's eyes glazed over slightly as Carmine spoke, but for Blake this was the missing puzzle piece. This was the reason she arrived in a state of full dress.

"And Weiss? That's why she's… our age again?" Blake offered.

"So _that's_ why I lost those ten years…" Weiss said quietly from her bed. Velvet's brushing slowed minutely, then resumed at normal speed. She was definitely working hard to keep the heiress' emotions in check. "Now I'll have to grow up all over again…"

Blake poured herself a fresh cup of tea before saying, "You mentioned helping Weiss get some proof…?"

"Ah, yes…" Carmine said as she slurped from her own mug. "Because of that phenomenon, normally you can't take anything with you from world to world – but I found a loophole. If it's small enough to fit in your pocket or if you can fully seal it in a pouch, then you _can_ bring an item with you from one world to another."

Weiss' eyes sparkled as she processed this information. "In that case, I know _exactly_ what I want… my wedding ring. I know right where I left it, too…"

Blake and Yang exchanged a look, the blonde's eyebrows going high on her forehead. A ring that the former Schnee heiress wanted that badly must have been a sight to see.

"I can already tell what you're thinking, Weiss… and I can safely say that I _cannot_ send you back there. It's far too dangerous. For you, specifically."

Weiss' shoulders slumped. Velvet patted her back in sympathy.

"You've become so attuned to that world after so many years there that if you tried to go back now, you wouldn't survive the trip. I'm sorry, but I can't risk that."

Just as Weiss squeezed her eyes shut, Yang spoke up and bravely said, "I'll go find it, Weiss. She can send me. Just tell me what to look for and I'll get it for you. It's the least I can do…"

She put a hand on Weiss' other shoulder companionably. Weiss put her hand over it, smiling more warmly than Blake had ever seen her smile before. She was like a whole different person with that expression.

"I'll have to make a lot of adjustments to be sure you arrive at the right point in the timeline. While I'm working on that, why don't you guys… I dunno, tell each other what happened to you? Tell your stories?" Carmine made sure to smile at each of them as she said this, making it clear what she wanted them to do. "I'm sure you all have a lot to get off your chest."

Blake immediately began censoring parts of her own story in her head.

Yang also looked as though she was considering what to say.

Weiss simply zoned out again as Velvet continued brushing.

"Well, while you guys work on that, I'll be in my lab," Carmine said as she turned to leave. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"I have a question…" Yang raised her hand like she was in class.

" _Yes,_ Miss Xiao Long?" Carmine replied smartly.

"Although it's actually for _her…"_ she pointed to Velvet. More specifically, to Velvet's left hand. "I noticed it earlier, but now I gotta know… who's the lucky guy?"

For some reason, both Velvet and Carmine flinched at that last word.

The rabbit faunus fidgeted a little, now the center of attention in the room, and held her hand up so everyone could see her ring. Blake took a sharp breath when she saw the stone on it – large and sparkling, it was a diamond that must have cost a small fortune. How did she miss _that?_

In a smaller voice than any she'd used so far, Velvet meekly said, "Well, actually… it's not a _guy…"_ She played with her ring as she spoke, unsure of what else to do with her hands.

Yang and Blake's eyes met, a flash of understanding passing between them. The blonde caught on to the level of tension in the room and nodded, saying, "Ah, okay… I wondered if you'd swing that way someday. It actually doesn't surprise me too much."

Both of the adults sighed with relief. Strange.

Blake nodded her assent. Of all the girls she'd known, Velvet was high on her mental list of teens that seemed ready to come out (she'd never admit it, but Yang was also on that list).

"Okay… so…" Yang continued her earlier thought, "Who's the lucky _girl?"_

Rather than give a response, Carmine chose that moment to walk into the room, lean over Velvet, and… _kiss_ her. Slow and steady.

All three teens just stared in stunned silence.

Wow.

Once she was done making everyone uncomfortable, Carmine stood back up and displayed her own left hand – it bore a simple band of silver set with numerous small diamonds along the edges.

"She's _my_ wife," Carmine declared, waiting for anyone to challenge her.

No one spoke for several minutes. No one made a sound.

Blake's brain had just crashed, and she was waiting for it to restart. Carmine was married to Velvet? What would they learn next? Would it ever end?

"Okay…" Yang finally muttered, "…did _not_ see that coming…"

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **A/N: Dizzy yet?**

 **This nice and** _ **long**_ **chapter will serve as the entry point for the team's grand Multiverse adventure. Tune in next time as we revisit Blake and Yang's stay with each of the alternate Rubys they were sent to join.**

 **As for Weiss, well… don't count on her to open up for a while yet. I hate myself for putting her through the emotional meat-grinder like that, but it had to happen if she was going to grow as a character. And trust me… she** _ **will**_ **grow.**

 **I look forward to seeing where they all go from here… and they have a** _ **long way to go.**_ **(Who wants to see me reach** _ **100 chapters?**_ **Woo-hoo! Hey, who threw that tomato?)**

 **=^w^=**


	23. Catching Up

**Author's Note: Merry Christmas, everybody!**

 **Okay folks… here's the last chapter before they** _ **finally**_ **start exploring the Multiverse. Promise. Also sorry for the delay, this one was a real bugger to figure out… but I think this'll work. Maybe.**

 **I** _ **am**_ **trying to remember that this is just a fanfiction – that it doesn't need to be as polished as a proper novel.**

* * *

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 _Remnant-5815  
(Carmine's World)_

…

Snow Rosewood, as she knew herself to be, sat in her bed with a heavy heart. The woman called Carmine had just walked out of the room, taking with her all of Snow's hopes and dreams for the future she'd planned for. A future with her very own family. A husband, a daughter, …and plans for a second child.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember their faces. She could picture them now, but who knew what time would do to her? Sam was already starting to grow hazy, and Mari… if she forgot the face of her own daughter, Snow would just shut down and die.

"Weiss," Yang tried cautiously, "You gonna be alright?"

Snow sighed, hoping silently that they would figure this name thing out soon. The Weiss Schnee of team RWBY was gone. Her name was Snow Rosewood… now and forever.

"I… I'll get past this. I have to…" she murmured.

But she really, _really_ didn't want to. For the first time in her entire life, Snow had learned what it was to truly love and be loved in return. And it wasn't just because of her name. Light knows she'd had enough of _that._

Velvet gave her a comforting squeeze of the shoulders, then quietly excused herself from the room. She muttered something to the other two before leaving, something important, but Snow wasn't listening. She was just trying to remember her child's face… that reddish-brown hair and those brilliant grey eyes she got from her father. All Snow wanted at that moment was to touch that precious face, to know that nothing she'd gone through these past 10 years was fake.

She didn't try to stop the tears that came, but simply let them fall. Blake noticed them first, Light bless her. "Weiss? I mean, …Snow? Do we need to call Velvet back in here?"

 _Well at least one of them got it right…_ Snow finally smiled a bit, even letting out a chuckle, but the tears didn't stop. She could feel her throat tightening.

"No, I… I guess I'm just… … … It's still too fresh, you know? Blood and bloody ashes, if I _did_ go back, nobody would recognize me! Look at me, _I'm a kid again!"_

Blake nodded, "Well yeah, there is that…"

While Yang could only mouth, _"…'Blood and bloody ashes'…?"_

Snow added, "Besides, I… … I think it's best that I… d-don't go back… Oh, Light that was hard to say… If I did, and no one knew me, I would just d-die on the s-s-spot…"

There was no stopping the sobs that came next. Snow suddenly had a hard time breathing as her lungs and throat choked out bitter tears. Blake and Yang both quickly darted forward and embraced their friend in a tender hug, arms wrapped around the former heiress.

All Snow could do was cling tightly to them, not wanting to let go. They simply held her, waiting patiently for the emotional torrent to ebb.

Surprisingly, it was Yang who first whispered, "It's okay, Snow… we're right here, and we're not going anywhere."

Followed by Blake, "…It doesn't matter _where_ we are… as long as we're together like this, … … …we're home."

"Dammit Blake, now you're gonna make _me_ cry…!" Yang sniffed.

All three girls shared a brief laugh, not letting go even a little bit. As far as Snow was concerned, she was never letting go of them again.

Never again.

"As much as I hate to kill the mood," Yang lied, separating herself from the other two, "…We should probably get on with this conversation. I wanna head out as soon as Carmine's done setting up, so I'll go first…"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 23:** _  
_ **Catching Up**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

"Are you seriously still working?"

"What? Oh… Yang, I… I thought you went back… into town…"

"I will soon. I'm just waiting on a chance to talk to the 'other' me first."

"Ah, I see. I guess it's not everyday you get the chance to talk to yourself… I mean, without sounding like you're going mad."

"Whatever. What are you doing, anyway?"

"Trying to lock down some coordinates. Yang… I mean, the other Yang… wants to go back to where Weiss spent the last 10 years and pick up her wedding ring."

"How romantic…"

"The thing I can't figure out is… why did Weiss go to 1148? I _know_ I set her scroll to take her to 8843. I _know_ I did…"

"So you screwed up again."

"Dammit, I _know_ I did it right! I checked those numbers three times!"

"Shoulda done four."

"Like _you_ know better…"

"… … …Sometimes I feel like I do."

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response. If there's nothing else you need, please leave."

"…"

"…"

"…One more question."

"Yang, don't…"

"You said Weiss married someone while she was over there, right?"

"Don't you say it…!"

"… … …Did she marry a man?"

"GODDAMMIT! ! You just _couldn't stop yourself could you?! GET OUT OF MY LAB! !"_

"Touchy, aren't we? Not enough lovey-dovey time with your wife?"

" _One more word… ONE MORE FUCKING WORD… and I'm banning you from this campus for LIFE! Now_ _ **GET THE FUCK OUT! !"**_

"…"

"God… _dammit… Yang… … … …_ why couldn't you… why…?"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Remnant-6971  
(Genderswap World)_

…

[ Yang's Story – The Fighter, part 2 ]

…

Yang didn't remember much of what she did upon first arriving in Red's world. In her defense, things were happening really freaking fast. How was she supposed to keep up with it all?

What she _did_ remember was how upset she was upon thinking that Ruby had died… and how scared she was watching her world ending… and how surprised she was to find herself suddenly in the middle of town with no obvious problems…

But most of all she felt rage. Grimm had arrived, signaling the start of the Breach. Again. And Yang would be _damned_ before she let any of them get away.

Everything after that was a crimson blur. All she knew for certain was that she nearly knocked Red's head off in a fit of rage, ignoring the weapons his team had pointed at her head. She must have thought the boy had something to do with her being here, but the details of the event were somewhat foggy.

She also clearly remembered the shock of seeing a male version of herself when she turned around, and thinking, _Now I know how Ruby felt when she first saw Red._

…

"Well she looks just like you, so maybe she's a long-lost relative?" the white-haired boy accused Yang's male clone. "If so, she can share _your_ bed tonight."

"I am _NOT_ sharing my bed with a girl, no matter _what_ she looks like!" the blonde boy shot back.

"But I wonder exactly what your _reason_ for that is…?" the black-haired boy in the knit cap mused out loud from his bunk.

Yang was currently sitting tucked into a corner of the team RWBY dorm room, trying to make herself as small as possible. Red was standing nearby, leaning against the wall as the rest of his team debated their future.

"Are you gonna be alright?" Red muttered quietly, trying to keep their conversation private.

Yang sighed deeply, "I… don't know yet. There's a _shitload_ of things I don't know yet, but I'm mainly worried about Ruby…"

Red seemed like he wanted to pry, but chose to leave it alone for the night. It was late and no one seemed ready to settle down yet, so the young man took control of the room. Within half an hour, the lights were off and nearly everyone was asleep.

Everyone but Yang. She'd been given an air mattress to use, but sleep was far from her mind that first night. Fear kept her awake.

Fear for her sister. Fear for her friends. Fear for her world.

Fear… of the unknown.

The images and sounds she had just recently lived through, the end of her world, continued playing back in her mind. Over and over they repeated. She knew they would play through her dreams if she did sleep, but she couldn't just stop.

Slowly, gradually, Yang fell asleep anyway. Luckily it was a dreamless sleep.

…

"Blake, quit staring and go back to sleep."

"Are you serious? Sleep? In the same room as _those things?!_ Dude, we will never get this close to a set of titties again!"

"Hmm… You have a point…"

"Ugh… Why are you two awake? And why are you staring at… Oh…"

"I know, right? Look at 'em sway as she breathes…"

"Almost like they're… alive…"

"You two are idiots. They're just breasts, what's the big deal?"

" _Two_ big deals, if we're being picky…"

"I bet they feel like marshmallows…"

"I wanna touch 'em…"

"Did you actually forget how she fought out there today? She'd twist the two of you into a human pretzel… Huh, on second thought, maybe you _should_ try _…_ "

"The next one who talks about touching a _nything_ gets toilet-cleaning duty for the rest of the year. Now shut up and sleep."

"…"

"…"

"…Is she… not wearing a bra?"

…

As the days passed, Yang's unease diminished. Sleep came more quickly and more completely, allowing the blonde brawler to recover her strength sooner. After a few visits to this world's version of Professor Ozpin (an image she would never un-see), Yang was allowed to use an empty dorm room for the duration of her stay… however long that ended up being.

Her first few days were spent getting to know the boys of team RWBY, who were acting as her hosts. What was funny was how similar they were to her own team – other than the fact that they enjoyed lounging around without any shirts on. That was another sight she would never un-see. Not that it was a bad thing… not bad at all.

Instead of a ribbon, the male Blake hid his faunus ears beneath a knit cap. His hair was cut shorter, but other than that he was the same as Yang's own partner. Even read the same books. Including _…that_ one. Needless to say, she scored a few points with this Blake on day 5. Anything to keep Yang quiet about … _that_ book. Heh heh…

Thankfully the male Weiss chose to forgo the combat skirt in favor of white trousers. He also tied his ponytail at the base of his neck, rather than one side of his head. Everything else was the same, including his choice of jacket. He even sported the same scar over his left eye.

Yang's male half could have passed for her twin brother. Not much more to say about him. ("Hey!")

One funny event happened on the evening of day 7. Yang was in her dorm room, accompanied by the boys as they hung out and chatted. She wanted to go to bed, but they didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave. Her irritation was only cut off by a sudden idea.

Clearing her throat (which made the boys turn to look), Yang started to take her top off.

The room emptied out in a flat second.

A cloud of dust hung in the air from their hasty exit. All four of them called back some form of 'Good night' before returning to their own room.

Yang had a good laugh at that. It was the first time she'd really laughed since…

Since before Ku died.

…

" _Damn,_ that was close…"

"Why'd you pull me out? We almost _saw them!"_

"That's exactly why, numb-nuts."

"Are you telling me you don't want to see… the glorious…?"

"Look, I'll admit they're big… and nice to look at…"

"And here I thought you were secretly gay."

*ahem* "I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Knock it off and get to bed. We have training tomorrow."

"What? Why? We get a break from classes after the Breach, remember?"

"Did I say anything about classes?"

"Oh. Oooooooh…"

"Maybe we could train with water guns… and invite _her…_ "

"Two words: 'human pretzel.'"

"Oh yeah…"

"You know, Red… you seem rather familiar with her. Are you ever gonna tell us who she actually is?"

"Just calling her 'Big Sis' doesn't really tell us much…"

"I told you her name is Yang, remember? The 'Big Sis' thing is so we don't have two different people answering to the same name. That's all you need to know."

"So is she some kind of clone…?"

"That's all. You need. To know."

 _*Tsk*_ "Fine."

…

In general, Yang's stay with the boys of team RWBY was uneventful. Mostly.

Her first week was spent recovering from the trauma of losing her home and her friends. Weeks two and three were mostly hanging out and killing time, waiting for something to happen. Hopefully something good. Grimm attacks were not on that list, by the way.

There was, however, one event that helped the blonde brawler pass the time much more thoroughly.

…

"Run that by me… one more time," Yang said slowly on the morning of day 8. She blew a strand of golden hair out of her face as she looked at the redheaded boy standing before her. Maybe she heard him wrong? Before coffee, anything was possible.

"I was hoping… you could help me… um… find a g-g-girlfriend." Red's face held a full blush as he spoke, which was a rather impressive shade of scarlet. "Starting today."

Yang blinked, running his words through her head again. And again.

It was too early for this shit.

Normal thought returned after the first cup of coffee, motivation after the second. She agreed to help, but _he_ had to make it happen. All she would do was make the introductions. And maybe provide a little push.

Wrapping her mind around the whole gender-swapped-world concept, Yang ran through a mental list of the hot guys she remembered from back home – since they were all girls here – and got started.

Soon motivation became annoyance – the introductions were easy enough, as most girls thought Red was at least cute, but the boy stumbled over his words worse than anyone Yang had ever met. She got the sense that he was … _terrified._ Not once did they meet a potential candidate that Red could act normally around.

It took some severe questioning to get the redheaded boy to finally fess up to his actual fear of girls. While disappointing, Yang had already promised to help and something like this would not stop her now.

…

About three days into the search (with a score of 0-9, by the way), Yang was approached by another member of the all-male team RWBY…

"Are you free for a minute?"

"Several, if you're nice."

"I'll make it quick, then. I understand you're …helping Red to look for a …potential girlfriend?"

"In not so many words, yeah. What about it?"

"Does that mean you have …experience in …attracting someone's attention?"

"Weiss… in case you haven't noticed _these_ by now…"

" _Point those things away from me…!_ Sorry… yes, of course I've seen them. I meant in …other ways…"

"You clearly have someone in mind, don't you? Okay, I'll bite. Whaddya need?"

"…Humph. There is … _someone_ who has caught my attention, let's say …but it seems this person has yet to notice it. How do I go about attracting …this person?"

"You've got me curious now, Jack Frost. But I can give you a few simple pointers-"

"Call me that again and you'll see just how _cold_ I can be…"

"First pointer: Drop the act. I know that deep down you're not as cold and detached as you want others to think you are. Show … _this person_ …how the real _you_ can be."

"…"

"Second pointer: Learn. Watch and learn everything you can and get to know …this person …as best as you can. Show them you're interested. Nothing could work better to show them you care."

"… … …Anything else?"

"Not really, no… Start with these and the rest should follow naturally."

"Very well."

"So… can I guess who it is?"

"Absolutely not."

"So _cold…_ I guess I'll just call you Mister Freeze, eh?"

…

Despite her best intentions, Yang never learned who Weiss' potential love interest was. And not because she didn't try… the boy was more subtle than she expected. In fact, it seemed as though he might not have been telling the whole truth. He never seemed to pursue anyone Yang expected (such as the female Neptune, who was surprisingly hot).

At the start of Yang's third week, the male Weiss actually began to follow her and Red around town. She only suspected it was due to their nature as partners (the Weiss from back home sometimes had episodes of being 'nice' like that). That was her first thought, anyway. As the days passed, Yang only grew more confused watching the two of them. The male Weiss almost seemed to be … _guarding_ Red.

There was one incident in which a potential girlfriend tried to lean in close and give Red a peck on the cheek – nothing too intimate, just a friendly greeting – but suddenly the male Weiss was pulling the young leader away like a bomb was about to go off.

To be honest, Yang simply didn't get it. Was he jealous or something?

Sometime during the night, apparently, Red had a change of heart and called off the search. He never explained why. In fact, no one told Yang _anything_ that happened during that last week. Everyone seemed to start behaving differently while she was around, like they were all keeping a secret from her.

Odd as that was, watching Red and Weiss was far more odd. The two of them seemed …closer? But since no one explained any of that to Yang, the girl was left to her own devices to understand it all… and she most definitely failed to do so. Subtle things like this often went right over her head.

Yet, by the time her scroll popped up with the 'Lifeline Protocol' screen, everything seemed okay. The boys promised to behave themselves for Big Sis, and Red was alright with his… issues.

She resigned herself to letting Weiss take care of her 'little bro' from then on.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Remnant-5815  
(Carmine's World)_

…

Night arrived quickly.

Since the washroom was only big enough for two of them at a time, Yang elected to wait in the room while Blake and Weiss… er, Snow… got cleaned up and ready for bed first. She drank another glass of water while she waited, cooling her throat after telling her story. Blake was next, and the blonde was certainly eager to hear about her partner's romp in another world.

Not surprisingly, both Blake and Wei- _Snow_ gave her a look of pure confusion as she finished. Apparently _they_ figured out what Yang had missed. And they wouldn't tell. Sometimes things like this could bother the blonde for a long time, but tonight she decided to just drop it and focus on recovering. And preparing. Carmine would be ready tomorrow, which meant _she_ had to be ready too.

Snow mentioned that while she still needed more time before she told them her story, she needed to update Yang on a few important things before anyone was transferred out. Things like… _the fact that Dust didn't work in that world._

Yang was still reeling from that one. How would that even work?

Suddenly the older Yang Xiao Long walked into the room and looked around quickly. Nodding in satisfaction, she looked at the younger Yang and roughly said, "We need to talk. Alone."

What little good mood Yang still had by that point was rapidly fading now. "Then you'd better make it quick. They'll be back any minute."

The mechanical arm and the flesh arm crossed in barely concealed anger, "Don't get smart with me. It's important. It's about… … … the future. _Your_ future."

Yang sighed, but relented, "I'm listening."

"Okay, here goes… … No matter what your Ruby does in the years to come, I need you to promise me that you will be there to support her in anything she chooses."

"Um… did you forget I'm her big sister? I do that anyway…"

The older woman grabbed the teenager's shoulders roughly and growled, "…I don't think you're listening to me. I said … _anything."_

"…You're gonna need to clarify – my brain's a bit worn-out right now."

She released the teens shoulders with a sigh. "I presume you know about Ruby… _Carmine's_ marriage?"

"To Velvet? Yeah, she told us."

"When she told the three of us about it, I was… I was… gh…!"

"What?"

"…When Ruby went off to Atlas Academy for a year without telling us first, I was already pissed at her. I held a grudge all the way until we graduated. Ruby introduced us to Velvet as her … _fiancé …_ on our fucking _graduation day!_ That was more than I could handle and I… … … I… … …"

"…"

"…I fucking _blew up,_ okay?"

"Oh. Damn."

"No shit. I said so many things I can't take back, hurt people that used to trust me, and broke bonds that should have been life-long. I abandoned Ruby when she needed me the most. Do you understand me?"

"…"

" _ **I**_ _killed team RWBY…!"_

Those four words seemed to hang in the air, lingering like a bad smell. Yang beheld a woman who suddenly represented a potential future for herself. A bad future. A future in which she let her anger lash out and hurt the ones she loved the most.

Now she understood a little about why this older Yang's eyes remained red at all times – she was permanently angry _at herself._ The woman must have been suffering every day since it happened. So much pain…

Quickly wiping away a stray tear, the older Yang suddenly turned and said, "I should go. I've already overstayed my welcome."

"Thank you," the younger Yang said quietly, causing her older self to pause at the door. She added, "If you're sorry it happened, can't you make up with everyone? Can … _this…_ be fixed?"

Red eyes glanced back, now glimmering with unshed tears. "It's too late for me, but not for you. Don't ever forget… no matter how strong she seems, no matter how much she may look like she's grown up… she still needs you. Ruby will always need her big sister."

And with those words, the older and harder Yang Xiao Long left the room. The teenager who remained suddenly felt like she might never see that woman again.

"I won't forget," she quietly vowed.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Remnant-2789  
(Random Team World)_

…

[ Blake's Story – The Lover, part 2 ]

…

Blake literally fell into Rose's lap when she first arrived. Luckily for both of them, the room was otherwise empty.

The next hour was spent trying to get Blake to calm down – she had just come from a world that was ending, remember – and the three hours after _that_ were spent explaining things.

Blake went first, updating the muscular redhead about the events that took place between Rose leaving with the others and Blake's arrival – it didn't take long, of course. Still, it was a lot to take in. Rose was rather adamant that Ruby was not dead, and was able to help Blake come to terms with her new environment.

For Rose, five days had passed since she got back. Right away she was able to diffuse the fight between her Yang and Coco by knocking the former into the water just off the dock. She baited Coco by giving her a bar of extra dark chocolate – apparently this is Coco's number-one weakness (the Coco from Blake's world had given her the chocolate ahead of time). Rose's former partner was currently being held for observation in a mental ward.

Soon after they finished speaking, Rose took Blake to Ozpin's office and explained things as best she could. Long story short, everyone worked together to fashion a cover story for the cat faunus – she was now a temporary transfer student from Haven Academy and would be taking Coco's place on team ROCC until further notice.

But then Rose introduced Blake to Octavia and Ceil as her 'girlfriend' rather than just a new friend. This caused no end of surprised looks from everyone they met from then on. In fact, Blake would be the recipient of many, _many_ jealous looks from then until she went home…

Blake had been told stories about how popular Rose was in her own world, but once she got there, the truth really sunk in. The girls really did love her, it seemed. Rose assured her it was almost entirely the fault of her pheromones.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that Rose had explained to the group that she had a pheromone imbalance that caused various people (girls) to start acting funny around her. As in, _falling in love_ with her. That did go a long way in explaining the actions of everyone, but… for Blake, there was something else going on.

Blake didn't need pheromones. She was already in love.

Even from the start, Rose had fully captured the brunette's attention. That deeper voice, those rippling muscles, and that adorably goofy grin – everything about Rose made her heart race. She didn't truly know until right before Rose left, but this was a real love. It had nothing to do with body chemicals.

The night after Rose called Blake her girlfriend, Blake could not hold back any longer. Neither could Rose, for that matter. The two of them came close to waking up the entire dormitory with their… noises.

And so, other than the fact that she was part of a different team, Blake was practically back home. She and Rose frequently interacted with the older team WYZE, which happened to include Weiss and Yang, so she was still around people she knew… for the most part.

However, that's not the point of this story. The important event happened at the beginning of the mid-year break, about one month after Blake arrived.

And it nearly killed her.

…

The first of the three days started out totally normal. Blake and Rose were walking to the cafeteria for breakfast, but Blake noticed that Rose was keeping one hand in her pocket the whole time.

"I have a reason for that," Rose assured her companion. "I've been reading up on my condition in the file Carmine put in my scroll. It's the same one that had the formula for my medicine. According to her research, certain genetic patterns dictate if someone is immune to my smell. Or weak against it…"

Blake nodded, keeping quiet. She was genuinely interested.

Rose continued, "Her findings suggest that every 'Ruby' has the genetic code to make them immune… but they're not the only ones. Other people can be immune as well, and to them my smell is super repulsive. I put a tiny drop of the concentrated pheromone spray Carmine gave me on one of my fingers – and I want to see what happens this morning…"

"Surprisingly thorough…" Blake mused as they entered the vast room. "In that case, I'll just… keep my distance…"

"Good idea…"

Blake stood back and watched the show from a distance. Even with her enhanced faunus hearing, she had no chance of catching the distant conversation.

Rose approached team WYZE, namely Emerald Sustrai, in a friendly manner, just chatting a bit. At the right moment, Rose pulled her other hand out and tried to pat Emerald on the back during part of their talk.

The reaction was instant – Emerald quickly jumped back, her face contorted in disgust. She waved one hand in front of her face to make it clear what the problem was. Rose sheepishly put that hand back in her pocket and made her way back to Blake.

"Emerald's immune…" the redhead started to mutter. "This changes things… _lots_ of things…"

"How so?"

"You remember the Emerald I fought back in your world, right? She could cause hallucinations? _And she was on the other side?"_

"That's… a pretty big conclusion to jump to, you know. It looks to me like she's behaving just fine."

"But she claimed she had a crush on me before. If she's immune, that's impossible."

"… … …I'm not sure if I should respond to that or not."

"Look, the point is that something about this whole situation stinks. And not _me_ , either. I've got a bad feeling that something's gonna happen…"

"In that case, why don't we… go back to the room… and take advantage of the other's not being there…?"

"… … …Do you _ever_ get tired?"

"You haven't worn me out yet…"

Blake hooked her arm through Rose's as the pair made their way back out of the cafeteria without a care in the world.

Neither of them bothered to turn and check on Emerald. If so, they would have noticed her crimson eyes locked onto the two of them as they left, set in a look of determination.

…

Midway through the next day, Emerald approached Blake. She wanted to head over to the BMAC to tweak their weapons and talk about Rose for a bit (most girls here loved talking about Rose, so it was no big deal).

Still convinced that this Emerald was on the side of good, Blake casually agreed and went along. She would later curse her naiveté.

Moments after she entered the main building, something struck her on the back of the head. She blacked out instantly.

…

Blake awoke in a room that was almost pitch-black, the only light coming from the crack under a door. Her hands were tied behind her back, but her feet were left free. She could barely move, but other than a headache there was no pain.

But then the door opened, and Blake was quickly blinded by the light from outside. Several hands roughly propped her upright against the wall as her eyes adjusted, and an eerily familiar voice mused, "Well now… I knew you were resourceful, but I never expected you to make it all the way _here…"_

Another Blake Belladonna stood before the stunned teen. On her face was a mask nearly identical to the one worn by Adam Taurus.

Her smug grin was also the same as his.

"I thought leaving you tied and gagged in Haven's basement was enough to keep you quiet, but I guess I'll have to break both of your legs this time. No one gets in my way… least of all _myself,"_ she chuckled.

The men with her all wore White Fang masks, but she didn't recognize any of them. They carefully placed a large block of stone under each of Blake's knees as the masked copy pulled a sledgehammer from her side. Amber eyes went wide as Blake realized what was about to happen.

Masked Blake's grin turned feral as she growled, "… _This won't hurt a bit!"_ and swung the hammer down, aiming right for Blake's left thigh…

But it was stopped short by a gloved hand. A hand that came out of nowhere.

" _What?!"_ Masked Blake barked.

Where and how Yang had appeared was almost as mysterious as everything else that was happening right now. Blake was getting dizzy trying to make sense of it all. Yang was a blur as she made short work of the White Fang grunts that were holding Blake down.

"You okay? Did they hurt you?" she asked as she got Blake untied.

"I'm… I'm alright…" came the breathy reply. That was too close for comfort.

"No one could find you yesterday, so Rose had me hit up Emerald for information. That's what led me here. Was that your evil twin or something?"

"Your guess is as good as mine…"

At first Blake assumed the duplicate to be the original Blake of this world… but what she said didn't fit into that theory. She almost seemed to be a … _replacement_ for the original, instead. Like she was here to kill the original and take her place…

If so, that meant there was another Blake out there who needed help… but that would have to come later.

Yang and Blake quickly dashed outside, where they were joined by Rose. The masked Blake had been stopped in the main square just beyond the BMAC main building.

"Ah, my Rose… my lovely Rose… I was going to wait a bit longer, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. Come to me, my love!"

Rose responded by leveling her massive Crescent Rose Mk-II at the masked imposter and growling, "Blow it out your ear."

"Well said," Blake declared as she took a stance next to the muscular redhead, Gambol Shroud drawn and ready to go.

Yang took a stance on Rose's other side, not replying but still looking ready to kick someone's ass. Just like old times.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a massive wall of ice suddenly surrounded the area they were in, forming a massive enclosure. Weiss landed lightly beside Yang, taking up her own attack pose.

Team RWBY had gathered… in a world that it didn't even _exist_ in.

Four-on-one should have been an easy fight, but the masked woman had a ferocity that Blake had rarely seen in anybody. She fought like Blake, but faster and stronger than the faunus could have ever imagined. She used a similar semblance, but rather than shadow clones, this Blake created one solid clone at a time that could move around and fight for a minute before dissolving.

It was a hard fight. Everyone sustained some sort of injury before it was over. Blake was startled at how well Yang and Weiss could work together in this world. She and Rose were not as coordinated, but they managed well enough.

Blake managed to land the killing blow, but not before taking a bad cut to the cheek. That mask fell away at the last moment, giving Blake alone a look at the imposter's unmasked face…

Her eyes were not amber yellow – they were silver. Like Ruby's.

No sooner did Blake register this detail than the body of the imposter… _melted._ The body simply _flowed_ into flesh-colored goo and went _splat_ all over the sidewalk.

Needless to say, no one quite knew what to make of _that._

…

The rest of Blake's stay was pretty boring by comparison.

Rose and Blake, as well as Yang and Weiss, updated Ozpin on what happened. The headmaster immediately contacted Haven Academy regarding the possibility of a student trapped in the lower levels of the school. Before the day was out, they had their answer – another Blake had been found and rescued, and was now in the care of a Mistralian hospital.

Emerald Sustrai was arrested and placed in the same ward as Coco, mainly due to her sudden bout of maniacal screaming about 'master' and 'the goddess' which seemed to come out of nowhere. She also complained of pain in her neck, but there were no obvious signs of any damage.

As such, both teams ROCC and WYZE were each left without one member. Ozpin proposed that the remains of the two teams work together on missions until the issues were settled, which all six students agreed to.

Team WYZ-ROC was born. Rose and Weiss shared leadership duties.

And of course, Rose and Blake shared a bed. Every night.

Octavia and Ceil ended up moving into team WYZE's room for the duration of Blake's stay. Their reason? _Too much noise at night._

Blake certainly wasn't going to complain about it.

By the time the 'Lifeline Protocol' screen appeared on her scroll, Blake's face had gained a scar from that cut. Her heart had also gained a scar – since she'd settled with the fact that she'd likely never see her real friends again.

But in return, she had Rose. And that was enough.

If only she had never hit that 'confirm' button…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Remnant-5815  
(Carmine's World)_

…

How Carmine remodeled half of her lab overnight was quite the mystery. Where once there had been a vast computer bank and lots of techno junk, there was now a vast computer bank and a large teleportation… _room_ … of some kind.

How much coffee had been consumed to get this much done in less than 12 hours? _That_ was a scary thought…

"Okay guys, let me walk you through this thing. You'll be using it a lot before this is all over…"

Carmine hopped up onto the vast platform and pointed to the first of three glowing circles in the floor, as well as connected circles in the ceiling above each. "From left to right, these are platforms 1 through 3. Each one is connected to your scrolls remotely once used, so when you return, you end up on the exact same platform you left from…"

Yang, Blake and the newly-named Snow stood watching the proceedings. Only two of the three seemed to be paying full attention.

"Yang, you can use platform 1 today. Blake, I'm putting you on platform 2."

The brunette responded quickly, "Wait, what? Why me? Where am I going…?"

"I'm sending you out to replace a sensor that went offline. It'll be a simple job – just get in, swap the sensor with a new one, then leave."

Blake merely blinked, trying to process this new information.

Carmine glanced at the group, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes, "What? Did you think I set all this up just to send _one_ of you out? _Once?_ I've got a ton of back-work to catch up on, and you three are the perfect guinea pigs… I mean, _volunteers_ … to get it done for me. :3"

"Wait… you're putting us to work?" Snow asked carefully.

"I quit," Yang said a moment later.

"Your _other_ option," Carmine said threateningly, "…involves raw sewage and mechanical repairs. And there isn't enough shampoo in all of Vale to keep up with _that…"_

Lavender eyes flashed crimson.

"Don't sweat the details, it's fairly simple work. At least, _Rain_ never complained…"

"We're doing _her_ job…?"

Carmine paused her machinations, "…I admit, she usually doesn't stay out this long. I still think she's fine, but… no sense waiting around forever."

"What about me…?" Snow offered.

"Not for a few more days yet, Weiss…"

" _Snow."_

"Sorry… Snow… Your body needs a bit more time to re-adjust to a different world. Any travel is still to unhealthy for you right now. At most you'll need another two days."

Snow sighed, holding back a smile of relief, "Very well."

The Mad Scientist handed Blake a small device, which the cat faunus stowed in one of her belt pouches. "Your scroll will direct you where you need to go and give you directions on what to do once you're there. Now then…" Carmine sat at the console and began prepping the machine. As before, most of the electronics made very little noise – other than a light hum, no one could tell things were running at all.

As Blake stepped up to the mysterious 'platform 2,' Snow stopped Yang and gave her a tightly folded piece of paper. "This is the location of my house," she said calmly. "…And directions to my jewelry box. It's not locked. My ring is white gold with a large sapphire stone. You'll know it by the color – it looks like the inside is frozen in ice. Sam said it was called a 'Snow Sapphire.'"

"Wow," Yang said as she tucked the paper in one pocket, "Can't wait to see that."

Snow leaned in and gave Yang a gentle hug, "Thank you… for doing this for me."

"Don't thank me 'til I get back, you know?"

As Yang and Blake took their positions, Carmine shot a few more words their way: "Once you're there, _you're there to stay_ until you trigger the return program on your devices. It's best not to linger too long, but you have more time than you think. No longer than a year should work before you risk …damage."

The three teens blinked at each other. A year was _more_ than enough… right?

"Also, I'm setting your devices to bring you back to exactly five minutes after you leave. Whether you stay for a week, a month, or six months, only five minutes will pass here. All I can do on my end is monitor the status of your device – once you're out, there's nothing I can do to intervene."

Snow waved a meek goodbye as the two novice travelers were engulfed in a bluish-green light…

\\_ … _/

\\_/

Yang grew up on the island of Patch, so she was familiar with the ocean – she just hadn't seen it since joining Beacon.

It now sat in front of her, just begging her to jump in and splash around like a little kid again. The salty smell of the air, the cool sea breeze… this was _real_. On either side of her, the sandy shoreline stretched for miles in both directions. Off to her right stood a tall lighthouse on a rocky bluff – it was morning and a clear day, so the light was off.

Before the blonde even had time to pull Snow's note from her pocket, an irritated voice behind her growled, "Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me…!"

Yang expected several things as she turned, but what she saw was certainly not one of them: Sapphire Schnee. The Atlesian Specialist from another world was standing less than 50 feet away, looking exactly as she did the day she was sent home.

"Well… _you're_ here, and this is most _definitely_ not home. It appears Carmine screwed up again."

\\_ … _/

\\_/

Blake was, once again, stuck on the tallest spire in the city.

At least it wasn't raining here.

Either the gods hated her or Carmine was being an ass. Maybe both.

All around her stretched a gleaming city of steel and glass, far more expansive than anything she'd seen before, but no less modern in design. Numerous other buildings stretched to the sky like the one she was on, but none as high as this. As far as she could see, there was no way down save for jumping…

"Excuse me, miss… I don't know what's wrong, but this isn't the answer. I can recommend a few good therapists, so please don't jump."

Blake turned slowly, hoping against hope that the voice belonged to someone she _wanted_ to see. And for the most part, she wasn't disappointed.

It was Yang. And she was flying.

The blonde was dressed not unlike a superhero from the comics Ruby always read. She wore a black and red jumpsuit that left a few areas of skin revealed at the hips and shoulders, as well as a billowing red cape. Matching boots and gloves finished the ensemble.

And she was flying.

"I wasn't planning on jumping, dummy," Blake said loudly over a sudden gust of wind. "Instead of gawking, _how about getting me down…?!"_

"No need to shout, you know. And my name's not 'dummy' …it's Ruby."

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Remnant-0113  
(Chibi World)_

…

Roman's eye had been twitching all day. These … _tiny people_ were slowly driving him insane.

After the initial shock of seeing everyone from back home in that weird super-deformed shape, all the man could do was tuck himself into a corner and hope none of them spotted him. One corner near a building worked fine for that, and he'd been standing there for the better part of the day ever since.

That Damned Kid was the one he saw the most, running around and causing general mischief. Her team was never far behind, nor a few others he'd seen off and on.

If something didn't happen soon, That Damned Kid would be the first to get herself shot by his cane. Or maybe he'd just kill _all of them…_

Roman's thoughts were interrupted by a brief flash of light just to his left. He looked, expecting to see another mutant person, but this one was a taller version of short. She actually reached higher than his waist… just.

Neopolitan, gods bless that little woman, found him quickly and grinned. She gave her umbrella a twirl as she bounded over to his hiding spot. The only thing different about her was a big-ass watch on her wrist. It looked like a spank ray, really.

"Please, _please_ tell me you can get us out of here," Roman pleaded, ready to fall to his knees and beg if he had to.

The multicolored woman proudly patted the device on her wrist, then placed his hands around one of her arms, making sure he held on tight. She used her free hand to hit a few buttons, then…

The pair vanished in another flash of light.

The chibis were none the wiser.

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, that got deep in the beginning didn't it…?**

 **This chapter marks the end of the prelude stuff. Starting next chapter, each member of the team gets a starring role in a whole new world (but not Weiss, not yet… she'll join in when she's ready). Each set of worlds they visit before heading back to Carmine's world to regroup will be called 'Rounds.' Chapter 24 will be the first part of Round 1.**

 **And no, I haven't forgotten about Ruby… ;)**

 **=^w^=**


	24. Compass

_/_/_/

 _Subject: 9559-Yang_

 _Target: Remnant-1148 (Old World)_

 _Details: Full scan not available – Dust non-functional. Alternate power source recommended for replacement sensor._

 _Mission: Find and retrieve item 'Wedding Ring' and return it to rightful owner._

 __/_/_/_

…

… … …

… … … … …

The house stood on a high hill, just in the shadow of a stone spire. It was perfectly placed to give the wooden building some good shade in the late evening. Other than that piece of rock, the view over the valley, the shoreline, and even the little village was nothing short of epic.

There was also a dense forest that reached out and touched the edge of the land. It seemed to reach further once, but several stumps indicated that was no longer the case. A sealed stone well sat at the bottom of the rise, at the end of a quaint dirt trail that had seen better days.

As far as houses in this world went, none could compare to Rosewood Manor, as the locals had taken to calling it over the years. Two stories, nearly a dozen rooms, and a blue tile roof that could be seen for miles on a clear day, it certainly stood out. The walls were a dense shingle, the windows looked to be stained glass, and the front door was painted a bright red.

At least, it used to be. Years of neglect and exposure had faded the door to a dusky rose. Many of the shingles were cracked or missing, the windows broken, and the tiles almost completely gone. A few still stood strong against the ravages of time, but none would remain for too much longer. Weeds choked out any hope of living flowers or true vegetation in the stone-circled garden in the back yard.

Yang could _almost_ see the home it used to be. It was there, on the edge of her mental vision, but just out of reach.

Sapphire loved the place at first sight, though – she had confessed early on that she just adored old, ruined buildings like this. The Atlesian Specialist was currently staring at the structure in awe.

"This here's the place," said their guide, an older gentleman simply called Bob. "Rosewood Manor, as the folks 'round here call it. Knew the family 'fore they up and left. Sweet little girl. You ladies have your lookaround, I'll wait right 'ere."

Yang simply nodded, hoping she appeared to be the 'eager traveling student' they agreed she was supposed to be, and made for the front door. Sapphire exchanged a few words with the man, then went in behind the blonde.

The old ruined building waited. As did Weiss' past.

Yang truly hoped she wouldn't cry while in there.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 24:** _  
_ **Compass**

… … … … …

… … …

…

"Fantastic," Sapphire wondered aloud, "The design work is exceptional… the foundation is rock-solid… and even with this excessive weathering, it's still completely sound."

Yang wiped one finger across the banister and it came away black. "Dusty as hell, though…"

"Bob _did_ say that no one from the village dared to come in here after… Sam left."

Both women dropped the conversation after that. Neither of them wanted to remember that detail.

It was the third day of Yang's stay in Weiss' old home world. After catching Sapphire up with everything that had happened since their last meeting, the two of them joined forces to finish this job and get back to Carmine. Sapphire had literally appeared _directly_ from leaving Yang's world, so she missed everything. Literally.

The first thing they did after agreeing on a shared cover story was find the little seaside town of Charleston. Once there, the locals directed them towards the large, wooden building up on a large hill. The man called Bob was the only one to offer to take them there, to make sure they didn't get lost – and to make sure they didn't steal anything, no doubt.

That is, Yang _assumed_ as much… until Bob told them otherwise. He was actually fine with the two of them taking whatever they wanted. He never explained why, though.

In any case, the main hall was massive. The open space was easily two stories tall on the inside, with twin curved staircases leading to a half-floor balcony. From there, two hallways on both floors led to the rest of the house. A rusted chain hung from the center of the ceiling, likely one that once held a chandelier of some sort.

Weiss' note… er, Snow's note… directed Yang to the second floor, west hallway. Room at the end of the hall. The blonde tested every step to ensure the floor could support her weight.

The master bedroom was just as grand as the rest of the house, but on a smaller scale. A rotted-out bedframe dominated the floor space, with shells of other furniture scattered throughout. The dresser survived most of the wear, as did the thick wooden jewelry box atop it. Yang quickly wiped the dust off the front and lifted the lid.

Inside sat only one item – the ring she had come for.

It was made of either silver or white gold, but there was no easy way to tell which. The stone was a fabulous shade of blue, and Yang could clearly see the 'imperfection' Snow had mentioned deep inside the gem. It really did look like it had frosted up at the center. It was like a tiny ice cube cut to fit a ring.

All at once, the impact of this little piece of jewelry hit home for Yang. This ring, this _exact_ ring, signified the end of Weiss' old life and the start of a new one. This ring was what bound that girl to this world.

But that bond was now broken. And Weiss nearly broke because of it.

Snow had not yet told them any part of her story, but as Yang looked around, she could almost picture it – a little girl running down these halls while giggling, a handsome man ascending those stairs after a long day, and a lovely wife waiting for him.

What kind of man could change Weiss Schnee so …completely? Or rather… what kind of child?

Yang carefully wiped a thin layer of dust from the ring, then tucked it into her empty belt pouch. She left the room with a smile, wondering what sort of look Snow would have when she got back and gave it to her.

Once in the hallway, Yang stopped at the partially open door of the next room in line – a splash of color from beyond caught her attention. Stepping carefully, Yang eased her way in.

This room's purpose was lost on the blonde at first. All she could see were faded, crumbling and illegible papers. Everywhere. A few seemed to hold drawings at one point, but she could tell nothing beyond that. One wall held the largest piece, and she guessed it was a map once.

Other than a few rotted tables, the room held little else. Yang almost left before one other item caught her eye – something brass, an unusual color in her search thus far. She picked it up off the floor and examined it.

She was holding an old compass, like they used to use back before electronics could tell a ship's captain which way was north. It was quaint, but at least it still worked. Yang carefully stowed it in the pouch with Snow's ring, not giving it another thought. Likely some sentimental value, at the very least.

…

"Excuse me… Bob, was it?"

"Yes, mum? Your little friend alright in there?"

"She can handle herself. I was just wondering… did you know the family that lived here? Personally?"

"Aye, so I did. Long time ago, it was. When I was a wee lad, in fact. They had a little girl, sweetest thing you ever seen. Me an' her was good friends, ya see. Marigold… Light, how I've missed her."

"And her mother?"

"Ah, fair Lady Snow, Light bless her soul. A right beauty that dinna belong in this world, I says. 'Twas a shame, what happened. Ol' Sam took it the hardest. Never seen a man so broken in all my life, before or since."

"What actually happened? I've only heard scant tales…"

"N'one here truly knows. I s'pose n'one ever will… not in this life, I s'pose. Most believe she was taken in the night. Other's'll tell you she left on her own, but them's liars, Light burn 'em all. They dinna kin Lady Snow like I did – _never_ was there a woman who loved her family more than she did."

"What do _you_ think happened?"

"Well… … … don't tell n'body, but… Lady Snow told me stories of where she came from. Tales and myths, the lot of 'em… but she told 'em like someone who _lived_ 'em. Someone who was _there._ She told me of the girl in the red 'ood, the girl with the cat ears… and the girl with the violet eyes and golden hair."

"…"

"Yes, mum… I know who your friend really is, but I dinna want to upset you. I know what happened to Lady Snow… _her friends finally came for her."_

"…"

"When Ol' Sam first found her all those years ago, Lady Snow was always talking about them – about how her friends would find her, bring her back. After awhile, she stopped waiting. Stopped talking about 'em."

"She gave up?"

"I dinna think so. I think… … … I think she decided she liked it here. I think she finally felt like she was …home."

"That's …more comforting than you know, Bob. Thank you."

"…Aye."

…

Yang's exploring took her to the other side of the house. There wasn't much to see, as time had claimed most of the items left on the premises, but not everything.

One room on the ground floor held numerous rusted metal tools, some simple and others large and complex. A large number of small, wooden carved items littered the space as well. Most were small, but some were broken pieces of larger items. All the wood was a dark color, and felt quite a bit harder than most wood Yang was familiar with. No idea what kind it was, though.

Her eyes fell on a set of round relief carvings in one corner, and examining them revealed several familiar images – the symbols of team RWBY, each with the names of their owners carved in neat, flowing script. Snow must have carved them herself, while feeling nostalgic.

Yang's was obvious – she would know that image of a burning rose anywhere. Blake's was there too, as was Weiss' snowflake. Ruby's rose was oddly absent, however…

A moment's search revealed it buried under a pile of dust near the door. Unfortunately, it was damaged – only the symbol remained. The name had broken off some time ago. Nearly half an hour later and Yang could find no sign of the missing piece. Damn. Wonder what happened to it…?

Still, these might be nice to keep. Finding a spare piece of cloth that wasn't rotted out, Yang wrapped the carvings and carefully stowed them in her spare pouch. They just barely all fit together.

Standing up straight, Yang knuckled her back and sighed. If she and Sapphire didn't go ahead and scram, she would probably try and save souvenirs from every room in the house!

She briefly considered taking a few photos of the building with her scroll, but ultimately decided against it – seeing her home in this state would simply break Snow's heart. The poor thing had had enough of that for one lifetime.

Shaking the dust from her hair, Yang made for the front door.

…

…

"It's actually quite simple… but don't beat yourself up for not figuring it out," Sapphire began to explain after Yang finished talking. "In short… that world's Weiss preferred the company of other males. _Red_ was the one he was pursuing."

Yang stopped walking, mostly on account of her jaw falling off her face.

"Easy mistake to make," the Atlesian Specialist tried to soften the blow.

"So that means…" Yang muttered out loud, "…that Red… _responded_ to him. That's why he called off… the search… _OH FOR THE LOVE OF-"_ The rest of that sentence was littered with language that belonged in an R-rated movie.

Sapphire patted the blonde's back in an effort to calm the teenager down a bit, "Don't sweat it, Yang. Feel free to share those feelings with the others once we get back."

Yang bit her lip to keep from continuing her rant, then nodded.

The pair of travelers were making their way back to the point on the coast where they first appeared. In truth they could have traveled back right away, but doing it so close to the town – and to prying eyes – could have major consequences for a world as… _undeveloped_ as this one.

As they approached the area they were heading for, Sapphire took another broad sweeping look around herself. "I can see why Weiss would fall in love with this world, though. It has a charm that no amount of advanced culture could hope to match."

"I'll be sure to have Carmine book a vacation for you here once in a while," Yang responded in a dry voice.

"Who spit in _your_ punchbowl?"

"I'd prefer my vacation spots to have _network access,_ okay? I feel like I'm in the Stone Age…"

"Ha~ah… you're such a teenager."

"Does that make you an old lady?"

Sapphire's silver eyes flashed at those words. The pair silently glared at each other… for about three seconds. Yang's face started to crack first, then Sapphire's. After a moment, both girls were laughing like fools.

"I suppose…" Yang admitted, "…I'll miss the food."

"Agreed. I've never had crab _that_ fresh before, and that's saying something considering the family I'm a part of."

"I wish I'd asked about that stew they served us, though… gods. I'd love to make that for Dad when all this is over."

"I'm sure you can figure something out."

The lighthouse sat just ahead as the travelers approached their goal… but there was someone there waiting for them. At first glance he looked like a wizard from a fantasy cartoon – flowing robes, insanely long white beard and hooked nose – but upon closer inspection, he was merely an old man. With a long-ass beard.

"Art thou travelers? From far and away?" he asked in a shaky voice.

Yang glanced at Sapphire, who nodded and answered, "We are. And who are you?"

"It has been long and long since a name has belonged to me… but thou may call me… O."

"'O'?" Sapphire parroted.

"…Oh," Yang added.

"If thou would'st follow me, I shalt reveal the will of the gods upon thee. To yon tower, if thou please," the old man said reverently as he turned toward the lighthouse.

Before he got too far, Sapphire tried to say, "Um, sir? My friend and I really need to go soon…"

The man called O didn't bother to respond. He simply kept walking.

Yang shrugged, "I say we let him go. He looks harmless enough…"

"But he said 'the gods' …unusual for this world. As I'm sure you noticed, most everyone here said 'the Light' in some form or another. No one said 'gods' that I could hear…"

Yang nodded, remembering how Snow talked after she appeared back at Carmine's version of Beacon.

Sapphire continued, "He might be harmless, but he _also_ might do something drastic if we don't follow." The older woman glanced at Yang once, then started after the elderly man.

Yang sighed at the ground, then followed.

Getting back would have to wait, it seemed.

…

Inside the lighthouse was the bare minimum of furniture – three thin chairs, a tiny table and a bed. Not even a lamp. Clearly he was just a bum.

"When Samuel lost his wife, he searched high and low to find her. A full year he devoted to yon search, losing all his worldly possessions yet to no avail. At the end of his journey, …he came hither, to seeketh mine council."

Yang and Sapphire sat quietly, waiting for the old man to continue.

"The gods hath delivered a message unto me, to then deliver unto him. His beloved yet lived, but he was destined to never again lay eyes upon her. He was devastated. The child was saddened as well, but yon gods had another plan for that one."

Another pause. No one spoke for a few moments.

"The gods decreed that yon child could choose her own path – she could remain with her father and live out her life here, or she could venture forthwith… to see her mother. The Tool would unveil her path, and allow her to meet her mother once again… in exchange, she would have to abandon this world. She would never see her father again."

Yang scoffed. That was probably the most unfair choice she could have thought of. Sapphire's eyes grew hard as the story unfolded. She seemed to share the sentiment.

"After a fortnight to think it over, Samuel and young Marigold agreed to the choice. I used the Tool and allowed her to leave. Right in this lighthouse, a path of the gods opened and she walked through. She was gone."

This time Yang said nothing. This story was starting to sound a bit too familiar…

"After that, Samuel boarded his ship with no crew and sailed away, never to be seen again. I was instructed to share this tale with two women travelers who matched thee. And so I have."

"Do you still have this… Tool?" Sapphire suddenly asked.

O simply nodded, then reached into his robes and pulled out an old, faded device that most definitely _did not_ belong in this world. If anything, Yang thought it looked like one of Carmine's toys.

Did that mean… Marigold was taken through a portal? Did she end up in another world? Somehow or other, Carmine was responsible for this shit, too?

And _where the flying fuck did O get this device?!_

"Yang…" Sapphire warned, "…Settle down."

The blonde blinked as she realized that she was working herself into a frenzy right there in the chair. She carefully unclenched her fists.

"Sir, …may we have the Tool? I doubt it will do you any good anymore…"

"Indeed, it hath performed it's divine task. I hold no claim over it."

Sapphire took the old-looking device and zipped it into one of her pockets. She then shared a look with Yang that said _we'll-discuss-this-later._

"I thank thee for hearing me out. Fare thee well, travelers."

…

Yang and Sapphire stood in the same spot they first appeared, no longer feeling as easy-going as they once did. The sun was rapidly setting behind the horizon, painting the skies in lovely shades of orange and pink.

Neither of them wanted to think about what they just learned. Sam going full depression-mode was not too shocking, but… Marigold vanishing through a portal? Sam sailing away, never to be seen again?

Snow would _not_ be happy to learn all that.

"I'll help you explain when you go to talk to her," Sapphire said, somehow reading Yang's mind. "Don't worry."

"Thanks," she replied.

As Yang pulled her scroll out to find the right program, the specialist drew closer and muttered, "So… how does this work? Do we both hit the button together?"

The memory of Rain and her PLOT device came to Yang's mind right then. "I think… all you need to do is hold on to me."

The taller woman complied, grabbing hold of Yang's arm and clutching tightly. Yang found the program and hit the button marked 'RETURN.'

Her vision faded to white. She felt a strong _pulling_ sensation as she, and hopefully Sapphire, were dragged through the barriers of space and time. There was a moment of slight disorientation as they landed – with any luck, future trips would prove less dizzying.

Before her vision returned, Yang heard the sound of a coffee mug shattering on the tile floor, followed by an angry squawk of, _"Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"_

Well… this will be fun to explain.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Remnant-6971  
(Genderswap World)_

…

Yang's sudden departure left Red feeling… abandoned.

It was obvious she didn't _mean_ to just up and leave, but she could easily have stayed a bit longer. There was still a lot he would have loved to do with the female version of his brother around.

Like finally come to terms with his… new feelings.

"You keep moping like this, she might find her way back here just to smack you upside the head," Weiss mentioned as they walked. The pair of first-years were heading back from a late-evening session in the training arena, both worn out but feeling good.

It had been three days since the girl Yang was taken home. At least, he _hoped_ she went home.

"Yeah, I know…" Red sighed. "I just… I miss her, you know?"

"I'll admit she livened things up around here, but try not to forget you still have a team to lead," Weiss added. He patted Red's shoulder in an effort to convey comfort, but it was less successful than he wanted. The shorter boy managed a feeble smile.

"Thanks…"

Weiss leaned over and gave Red a light peck on the cheek, then smiled and said, "I'll go on in first and shower. Take however long you need. …I'll be waiting for you."

Red felt his face grow hot as he mumbled a simple, "Okay…"

The taller teenager walked off, leaving Red to stare after him. They were still far too new at this for either of them to think of each other in terms of 'boyfriends' but… wow.

Weiss was a surprisingly good kisser, too.

Not that long ago, Red would never have expected to discover that he was gay. Maybe he wasn't before, but people can change in the most startling ways. He felt a bit bad that he ended up dragging girl Yang all over Vale for no reason, but at least now he knew.

Weiss was what he needed. _Who_ he needed. Hell, if girl Yang wasn't 'technically' related to him, would he have considered _her?_ Probably not.

No, don't think about that kind of crap. Not now.

Weiss was still waiting for him.

The moment Red turned around, however, all of his senses began blaring alarms at full-strength. Something was wrong. Something…

Some _thing_ was suddenly standing right in front of him.

At first glance, it resembled all those female look-alikes from before – it wore a similar red hood and cloak to Rain – but that was it. The figure stood as tall as Red himself, but it's presence… it was like looking into an inverted image, a physical void. There was no way to tell if it was supposed to be male or female, either.

It was totally covered in various rags, small bits of armor and leather patches. It's ragged, almost-black hair hung in kinked lengths around the bone-white featureless mask. The two narrow eye slits revealed nothing behind them. No light. No life. There was no movement of the chest area to indicate whether or not it was even breathing.

Whatever this thingwas, it was …just _wrong_.

And it was staring right at Red. Right _through_ him.

The boy was hit with two very different, very powerful emotions at once – terror and rapture. He could not stand to be anywhere near this abomination, yet… he could not bring himself to turn away.

It started walking closer, it's every step the drumbeat of doom. Red's blood roared in his ears with each heartbeat. His skin was ice cold. His feet were like lead weights.

Red thought he knew fear, once, …but this was the first time he truly _understood it._

Still frozen, he could do nothing to stop the thing's hand from reaching up and touching him on the forehead. Red was struck with the urge to rip the flesh from his face to keep that touch from spreading and killing him.

A rough, hissing whisper came from behind the mask, sounding like a dozen angry serpents all tied together in a sack.

…

"… … … _War… … …"_

…

Red's head shot back with the sensation of a hot knife plunging into his brain. No scream could have properly conveyed the depths of the pain, so his throat didn't bother to try.

And then it was over.

Over…

What… what was over? What was he even thinking about?

Red blinked and looked around, unsure why his skin was covered in goosebumps. Must have been a passing fancy of something ominous. Far as he remembered, he was just getting some air after team RWBY's training exercises.

Oh yeah… and Weiss was waiting for him.

Shaking off the lingering unease, Red turned and headed back inside.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _What About Roman And Neo…?_

…

"So… let me see if I've got this straight…" Roman said carefully. "Your watch-thing is… a portal device… that can get us home… _IF_ you can find the right four-digit code to enter…?"

Neo nodded happily, putting her notepad away. She had blazed through more than a few sheets to get him this far, and she wanted to save what little was left. For later.

"I see…" Roman leaned back and crossed his arms in front of him, thinking about what he'd just learned. "After all the bizarre shit we just went through, I can't help but believe you."

Neo leaned against the building with him, sighing and taking in the sights. This new world still wasn't _home,_ but it was nice enough for now.

They had appeared next to a large brick-and-stone structure that had a plaque next to the front door calling it a library. With actual books. This wasn't like the one Neo had seen some years ago that was all digital, but paper books. Odd place. All around the building was a similar city to the Vale she knew, but with a lot more trees. And less technology. Maybe this world was like the past?

On the plus side, the people of this world had plenty of ice cream for the pair to steal. They needed a pick-me-up.

The crash of the door being slammed open pulled both sets of eyes over, and Neo beheld an odd sight – a girl from that team of kids, the one with the ribbon, was running away with a bright red face and her faunus ears in full view. As far as Neo could remember, she should have been keeping those things covered in public.

"She looked drunk on something," Roman mused to himself.

Neo nodded, but in her head she disagreed. The girl looked ready to die of embarrassment, instead.

They were near a window to the library, so Neo stood up to take a look. Maybe she could catch a glimpse of what might have happened…? Worth a shot, at least. Roman joined her a moment later, also curious.

"I knew it… That Damned Kid is here, too. Can't we get away from these fucking brats for more than a few seconds?" He growled as he spotted that same girl with the dark red hair standing in the center of the main area. She looked a bit worried to Neo. Like something had happened to make her upset.

If the red-haired kid and that faunus girl had something going on, Neo wasn't willing to stick around and find out. She'd had more than enough contact with The Gay of late.

Securing their belongings, Roman grabbed Neo's arm once again as the girl input a random combination of digits and hit the button. They vanished once again, still hoping to find their way back to where they belonged.

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: You know, I'm not** _ **trying**_ **to release these things so far apart. If I keep going at this rate, I'll get done sometime in the year 2054. Maybe. This is a long story in my head, 'kay?**

 **On a more important note, I still haven't watched volume 6 yet, but I now know enough about it to officially declare my 'Origin' world, Remnant-1802, to be non-canon. Or at least, pseudo-canon. Hopefully I won't end up** _ **too**_ **far off course with the details… but that's what happens when the canon story is still being** _ **actively written**_ **while I write a fanfiction for it.**

 _ **(Credits: The Girl At The Library written by momoxtoshiro.)**_

 **=^w^=**


	25. She's A Superhero

_/_/_/

 _Subject: 2525-Blake_

 _Target: Remnant-8021 (Hero World)_

 _Details: No Grimm detected. Rare examples of local populous display signs of enhanced natural abilities, some at extreme levels._

 _Mission: Locate and replace faulty model YD-882 sensor device._

 __/_/_/_

…

… … …

… … … … …

…

…

" _Long ago, in a distant galaxy not yet discovered by man, a mighty civilization of power and magic existed. The people of this world were seen as gods by those of lesser worlds. Yet their power was too great for their planet to bear, and it eventually caused a massive explosion that wiped them out. The gods were suddenly extinct._

" _All but one._

" _Alone and injured, exhausted and desperate, this last remnant of a glorious race shot through the cosmos in a life-support pod. Past stars and black holes, past meteors and gas giants. Past-"_

…

…

"I hope there's a point to this…" Blake interrupted the girl's rambling. "My slushy is melting."

Her redheaded companion glared at her in irritation, "I'm getting to that, shush!"

…

…

" _As I was saying… This lone survivor soon landed on the world of man. The crash of her ship took all but a trace of her life away, leaving her on the edge of the abyss._

" _Yet nearby, she sensed a kindred spirit. A kind soul. She called out to it with her mind, begging whomever it was to come to her aid._

" _But alas, the kind stranger did not make it in time. The last of the old gods, the lone survivor, had perished._

" _Yet… right before the eyes of the stranger, the remains of the alien woman became a mass of light and merged together with the human. All of her power, her magic, and her memories would live on in the body of the girl called…"_

…

…

"Ruby Rose, …right?" Blake interrupted again.

A silver-eyed glare was the response. "You take all the fun out of backstories, you know that?"

"You'd be surprised," the brunette answered as she slurped the rest of her drink.

Neither teen said any more as they walked down the sidewalk of the city. Blake continued staring at the skyscrapers (as she had learned they were called), still unable to wrap her mind around the notion that buildings could get so tall. And pretty. All that glass and steel must have taken a long time to get right.

It wasn't hard to imagine her own world looking like this if they could just get rid of the Grimm…

Blake's companion, familiar in many ways, noted the taller girl's fascination and mused, "You're a country girl, aren't ya? First time in the big city?"

The faunus bit back her annoyance at Ruby's tone and simply nodded. She hoped her ribbon wasn't moving around too much – as far as she could tell, everyone here was full human. Either that or they were faunus that were good at hiding themselves.

"Well you were lucky," Ruby continued, "If I hadn't been on my patrol up there, you likely would have had to be rescued by helicopter."

Blake almost asked what a 'helicopter' was, but stopped herself. The girl's tone told her that it was a natural subject in this world, and Blake didn't want to draw any undue attention to herself. Based on context, it was likely a type of aircraft.

There were _many_ things about this world she hadn't figured out yet.

After the flying-Yang-who-called-herself-Ruby pulled Blake down from the top of that tower, they landed on a nearby roof (a _flat_ one, thank you) and elected to take the elevator to ground level.

That was when the woman who looked just like Yang… _changed._

…Into a much smaller teenage girl named Ruby.

And all she offered as an explanation was that weird-ass backstory about an alien.

"To be honest, I haven't had these powers all that long. I'm still figuring them out. All I've found out for sure is that I can only stay… _like that…_ for two hours per day," Ruby said, unconcerned with whoever might be able to hear her. "It sucks, but at the same time it keeps me from going all day, you know?"

"Sure…" Blake replied absently.

"Still, flying is so _totally cool!_ I'm all… _nyoom!_ And… _phwaw!"_

"Uh-huh…"

"Oh, and I have super-strength, and super-speed, and I can shoot _lasers_ out of my eyes, and…"

"Do you come with a 'mute' button?"

" _Nope!"_ She popped the 'p' of course.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 25:** _  
_ **She's A Superhero**

… … … … …

… … …

…

"You said you… got your 'powers' from an alien, right? That's, like, someone from …another world?"

"In simple terms, yeah."

"Well… in that case, I have a little secret… I'm one, too."

"You look totally normal to me."

"Did the alien?"

"Not really, no… her eyes glowed white. Also her hair was standing up… she looked a bit like a super saiyan…"

"A… _what_ now?"

"Wow… even a country girl would know what that is. You _must_ be an alien."

"No, just… you know what? Fine. Yes, I'm an alien."

"Can you prove it?"

"Not in public, but… I have cat ears under my ribbon. Here, feel it…"

"I don't think you- _WHOA! Are those real?!"_

"Ouch! Yes, and that hurts!"

"Sorry, sorry! Wow, real cat ears… I wanna see 'em!"

"Not out here. I'd rather just get done with my job and head home, if it's all the same to you."

"I can help! I can help!"

"Oh? How?"

"Uh, _duh!_ Did you forget I can _fly?!"_

"What makes you think I need that? What if I'm already right where I need to be right now?"

"Because you were panicking on top of that building, so you obviously didn't mean to be _there_. And if you need to be high up, flying is the fastest way there."

"… … …You're smarter than you look."

"Thanks. I think…?"

"So how soon can we… you know… _take off?"_

"Gonna hafta be tomorrow, unfortunately."

"You have something better to do?"

"No… I, um… … … I can only transform _once_ per day…"

"Are you serious?"

"Mm-hmm…"

"Wonderful."

"But-but-but… I can buy us some lunch! There's a Wendy's down the street!"

"Um… okay. Lead the way…"

"This is so _cool!_ I'm giving a cat-alien a tour of the city!"

" _Please_ just call me Blake."

"Okay, Blake it is! Do you have… like… a super-cool alien name? Like… _Gar-Vana-Spool_ or something?"

"Just. Blake."

"Oh… Okay."

"Speaking of which… what about you? Do you have a …'superhero' name yet?"

"I… uh… … … no…?"

"We'll just have to work on that, won't we…?"

"Yes, sir! I mean, um, ma'am!"

…

As it turned out, Ruby had access to a studio apartment in the downtown area ("But my Dad pays the rent for me… as long as I keep my grades up"). She was a student at a high school in the city ("Freshman, right here!") and even held a part time job at the movie theater ("Butter on that popcorn, sir?"). All in all, she was everything Blake expected in a Ruby Rose from another world.

It was now close to midnight, and Ruby was completely out cold on the bed. Blake sat on a nearby chair (rather than the couch) and thought back on the day so far. And Ruby herself.

She was starting to miss her own Ruby, the young leader of her team from back home.

And Rose. Always Rose.

She thought back to this Ruby's 'superhero' form from earlier, a costumed fighter who looked exactly like Yang. She called it a transformation, but now that Blake thought about it… she acted exactly the same as normal while in that form.

That was another thing they would have to work on.

Blake pulled out her scroll, briefly admiring the midnight-purple color of the casing, and began running through the information on it. She soon found the program that would lead her to the sensor she needed to replace – and it clearly said she was in the right _general_ location, but it wasn't very… specific. A note in the corner mentioned that the accuracy of the scan was better the closer she got to the target.

There must be hundreds of buildings in this city. And they were going to search _every_ _one of them?!_ Yikes…

Her scroll also had 3 photos – all with Rose. The cat faunus gazed at them, her heart aching in her chest. She lightly brushed her fingers over Rose's face, wondering how the toned redhead handled her sudden departure. Probably cried for awhile. _Blake_ sure wanted to…

The brunette quickly closed the pictures before she _did_ start crying. She wiped away the lone tear that escaped, sniffing lightly.

"Kitty… … … ears… … … mm…" Ruby moaned in her sleep, then turned over.

Blake smiled, brushing a little of that dark red hair away from the girl's eyes. Hair the same color as what she had spent time pulling out of her _bra_ not too long ago…

Ooh, dirty thoughts. Bad Blake, now was not the time.

Well, they had a lot to do tomorrow. And the next day. And potentially all week. Gods only knew how long this would actually take.

Blake adjusted her ribbon as she curled up on the well-worn couch, fluffing the pillow and tucking herself under the blanket. She didn't have any strong arms to snuggle into… again… but she made do.

She resisted the urge to … _satisfy_ herself. Ruby told her ahead of time that she was a light sleeper, and that was one awkward encounter Blake did _not_ want to deal with.

…

And so, the next day came. Blake and the transformed Ruby made quick work of three large buildings. No luck in any of them. The faunus' search was leading her further south as they went. Two hours later, they had to stop.

…

"You know, …this two-hour time limit of yours kinda sucks," Blake mused as they sat on a street-side bench. She was stretching her legs a bit, but mostly bored. _She_ could have easily searched for longer.

"I _knooooow…"_ Ruby groaned in response. "It's like having a curfew. I _hate_ curfews."

Both girls sighed in unison.

Blake glanced over at Ruby and mentioned, "So… have you thought of a …'name' yet?"

"No…" the shorter girl confessed. "I'm no good with comic-book stuff like this. I could use basic names, but I'm sure no one would like 'em. The press would probably give me their own name that's super _lame."_

Blake had actually been thinking about this very topic, and after much self-debate she had a good option. "How about… _Ember Celica?"_

Ruby's silver eyes flashed with interest, which quickly faded to confusion. "What's a 'Celica?'"

"It means 'heavenly' or 'celestial' …I think it's Latin."

" _Celica_ … I like it. Maybe not the 'ember' part, since I don't do much fire stuff." Ruby stared into the middle distance, her mind playing with the word like a new toy. "Celica…"

"In that case… _Celica Rose._ You _are_ mostly red-themed in that form."

Now Ruby's eyes sparkled like gemstones. "Ooooh… I like that one."

"So… … … we good?"

"We are _so_ good!"

The two girls bumped fists and giggled.

As they stood to their feet, Ruby noted another thing, "Oh yeah, since I'm on vacation from school for the week, I'm free to help you out all the way until this Sunday. Think we can wrap up by then?"

Blake nodded, "I certainly hope so…"

…

Day two was a complete repeat of day one, save for scanning different buildings. They also had a slightly different conversation afterwards, but that was about it.

…

Day three saw the newly-named Celica Rose finally figure out how to fly _faster,_ which doubled the number of buildings Blake was able to scan. According to the readout on her scan, they were close – another couple of days and they would surely find that damn sensor so Blake could go home. They'd _better_ , anyway.

…

On the fourth day, they found it.

While Blake had appeared at the top of the tallest building in the city, the sensor she needed sat atop the _second_ tallest building… on the other side of town. It was mounted within the metal spire that served to attract stray lightning bolts, according to Ruby.

As Blake stood on Celica Rose's shoulders to work, the flying girl also holding onto Blake's ankles to keep her from blowing away on the wind, the cat faunus could only wonder how the flaming crap Rain managed to get this stupid thing all the way up here. Could _she_ fly, too? All things considered, it wouldn't surprise Blake to learn that there were quite a few more hidden abilities to the ancient Ruby Rose look-alike.

The pair managed to finish with enough time for Celica Rose to land them both on another roof before she changed back into Ruby. The flash of light signaling the change was not very bright, but it could be startling to someone who wasn't expecting it.

"How does that feel, exactly?" Blake inquired as they rode the elevator to ground level. "When you change, I mean?"

The shorter girl scratched her chin, "I guess… it feels like growing up? It doesn't hurt or anything, it just… feels weird. Like I'm _inflating_ or something."

"If it _did_ hurt, would you still do it?"

One dark red eyebrow lifted, along with one corner of Ruby's mouth, "If it means I can fly like that, then _hell yes!"_

Blake, who had experienced that flying sensation just a bit, also smiled and nodded in agreement. "I suppose that would make it worthwhile."

The metal box slowed to a stop as the bell dinged. The doors opened to allow the pair to leave, but…

"And just _where_ have you been all week, Ruby Rose?"

Weiss Schnee stood before them, arms crossed and face set in her signature scowl. Blake was taken aback by how identical she was to the Weiss that first set foot on the campus of Beacon Academy all that time ago. She even had the same outfit on.

"I… uh…" the redhead in question stuttered, "J-j-just showing my new f-f-friend around t-t-town. B-B-Blake, this is…"

"Weiss Schnee?" The brunette finished for her.

Both Ruby and Weiss blinked at her in stunned silence. Weiss spoke first, a clear note of awe in her voice, "How do you… know my name?"

"She also knew _my_ name right away…" Ruby said, her voice matching in tone. "Are you psychic, too?"

"Hardly."

"How could you know who we are?" Weiss demanded, "I _know_ I've never even met you before now! Just who the blazes _are_ you?"

Blake sighed deeply. It was clear that this was a situation the faunus was simply going to have to deal with. Likely on a regular basis.

Gods only knew how many times she would have to have this conversation before it was all over.

…

With the broken sensor in hand, Blake quickly began to disconnect. She was physically present for various conversations after meeting Weiss, but she wasn't really… _there._

It wasn't that she disliked this world, or even this version of Ruby – she simply didn't want to have to say goodbye forever to another close friend.

Once was enough.

…

"I know you want to get back home as soon as possible, but… could you stay one more night? Please? _Pretty please?"_ Ruby pleaded with Blake that evening. They were all three at Ruby's apartment, Weiss included, and the redhead seemed determined to have something resembling a party before Blake got away.

Weiss _acted_ disinterested, but Blake could see the little hints that she, too, wanted Blake's company tonight. The girl was practically Weiss' clone, so she was quite easy to read.

"I suppose I can wait 'til tomorrow…" Blake sighed.

Ruby jumped for joy, nearly hitting the ceiling and giving a _whoop_ of glee. Even Weiss couldn't hide her relieved smile. She tried, though.

Snacks were soon obtained, along with numerous varieties of baked goods. Blake enjoyed them, as she hadn't had much chance to indulge in junk food. She also remembered that once she transferred back, none of it would stick. Carmine called it a 'Persistent Status Phenomenon.' Blake called it cheating.

They ended up watching a movie that featured a group of grown men who had been playing the same game of tag for almost 30 years. Blake couldn't help but wonder how team RWBY would manage a game like that.

With Ruby's speed, she'd likely avoid being 'it' for all eternity. Heh.

Being tagged by Yang would likely involve bruises.

Blake herself could simply avoid any and all attempts at physical contact, so she would also never be 'it.'

That left Weiss – Snow – and who knew _what_ that girl would do? Blake was still looking forward to hearing about her stay in that other world. She also wanted to see that so-called 'snow sapphire.'

By the time Blake pulled herself out of her thoughts, the movie was over and the two teens next to her were fast asleep. The couch they were using had been Blake's bed since she arrived, but moving them now would be more trouble than she wanted.

Ruby, who was sitting in the middle, shifted herself in her sleep and ended up laying her head on Blake's shoulder. The teen didn't stir again as she drifted away, breathing steadily.

Blake smiled as she realized that she had a _literal superhero_ sleeping next to her. Her Ruby would absolutely turn green with envy.

Carefully adjusting her legs, Blake leaned back and let sleep take her again. It had been getting easier this past week, but she still had a hard time with it.

She missed Rose. She missed sleeping in Rose's well-toned arms.

Of course, she missed a few _other_ things they did, but now was not the time to think about that. She would have woken the two girls up.

Tomorrow would be the day she left them. But they would be alright. She had to believe that.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _What About Roman and Neo…?_

…

Roman was quickly getting tired of appearing in totally random places. It had been fun at first, but the novelty had worn off.

"I don't get paid enough for this bullshit," he muttered.

Neo nodded in agreement.

The pair of criminals were currently perched in a precarious position – they were standing on a thin ledge just beside a window. On the fourth floor of a building. As best Roman could tell, they were at Beacon again. Most likely the dormitories, but he wasn't all that familiar with where the brats lived.

"You take me to the nicest places, don't you?" the ginger-haired man growled at his accomplice.

Neo shot him a dirty look.

All at once, they both felt the air around them… _bend._ Almost like space itself was trying to buckle. It nearly pushed them both off their ledge. They had no handholds to grip, so they simply waited for the drop.

As quickly as it began, it was over. Roman almost allowed himself a moment of relief.

But then it felt like he had a knife blade pressed against his throat.

This was killing intent like nothing he had ever felt before. Neo felt it too, grasping at her neck like she was protecting it from an unseen assassin's blade. It felt like it was coming from the room behind him, so Roman dared to lean over and take a peek.

That Damned Kid and her gang of brats were there, of course… but there was one more. She looked like That Damned Kid's older sister, or something close to it. Her outfit was more military, and her gardening tool was… different. Meaner. More ready to kill.

Roman gulped hard. If that person found them out here…

" _Get us the fuck outta here!"_ he harshly whispered to the girl next to him. Neo nodded quickly and hit some buttons, and Roman grabbed her arm just in time. They vanished a moment later.

Had they remained another few seconds, they might have heard one of the girls in the room say, "…Mom?!"

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: Next chapter we check in on the missing leader of team RWBY. That one will be… interesting. And probably the first of these chapters to go longer than one part. We'll have to see how things go.**

 **Also…**

 **My stepdaughter just asked me yesterday… if I was gay…**

 **I don't know… how I should feel about that…**

 **She's 17, by the way…**

 ***sweats***

 _ **(Credits: Remnant's Reclaimer written by Hysterical Clerical Hijinks)**_

 **=o_o=**


	26. SOJOURN: Beyond the Horizon (pt1)

**Okay, so a real quick note – Ruby's chapters will be a little different from the others. Her stuff will be pretty much stand-alone stories under the sub-title** _ **Sojourn**_ **. I almost put them in a totally separate fic, but changed my mind last minute and kept them here.**

* * *

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_/_/_/_/_/

 _The dream always started the same._

…

 _She stood in front of Beacon Academy, the tall buildings and spires bathed in sunlight and beautiful. Almost ethereal. All around her stood her friends and family – Weiss, Blake, Yang, Dad, team JNPR, Glynda and Professor Ozpin._

…

 _Also present were seven people who looked just like herself – copies from other worlds. All were a little different from each other, but all were still Ruby deep inside._

…

 _But then the world broke beneath them, shattering like glass._

…

 _She fell into a deep abyss. All around her fell her friends, each falling in different directions._

…

 _Falling. Falling. Endless black. No light._

…

 _A ghostly white form found her, floating along with her and …pulling her. Drawing her towards a distant glimmer._

…

 _She saw the small light and went for it, not caring what it led to. Anything was better than this darkness. Anything._

…

 _She had to reach it…_

…

 _She had to…_

…

 _She…_

…

_/_/_/_/_/

…

…

Ruby's eyes shot open, her head screaming with pain.

It was happening again. Her mind and body felt like they were being torn apart, like a rope stretched to the breaking point. Her entire sense of being was falling away.

Only one thing ever stopped these attacks. Her silver eyes found a specific knothole in the ceiling planks – the one that looked exactly like an eye – and focused on it with all her might. Her ears roared with white noise. She smelled the sweat that was covering her body. She felt like she was both on fire and frozen solid at the same time. Her bones felt like they were made of molten iron.

Still she focused, pouring her mind into a single task. Slowly, agonizingly, the pain faded. She was left panting, sweat still soaking the poor excuse for a mattress that she slept on.

Eventually she relaxed her grip on the bedframe, the wood creaking under her hands. Another attack like that and she would probably crush it. Maintaining eye contact with that knothole in the ceiling, Ruby carefully used a dry spot on her sheets to wipe her forehead.

"That… was a bad one…" she quietly gasped.

Three months had passed since Ruby Rose found herself alone and stranded in a strange new world. That was all this place could be. Since she had quickly grasped the basic concept of Carmine's multiverse theory back home, it didn't take the teenager very long to conclude that this place was _not_ the Remnant she knew.

It would have made a huge difference if they all spoke her language, though.

A gentle knock on her door, followed by a tired voice, _"Aki-chan, daijoubu?"_

In this world, no one would call her Ruby …they called her Aki-chan instead. Sometimes, though, they said Aki- _san._ A few even said Aki- _sama._ Truly a strange language.

Still, she'd learned enough of it to get by. She had just been asked if she was alright. _"Hai, Shiro-san,"_ she replied. 'Hai' meant 'yes.'

Another sentence followed, but all Ruby caught was 'be quiet' and 'water.' While she still had a ways to go before she could consider herself fluent in _Nihongo_ …that's what they called their language… she could at least understand basic sentences and commands.

All thanks to this world's version of Weiss. She called herself 'Shiro,' however – a word that meant 'white.' Of course.

The wooden bed frame groaned as Ruby sat up and turned to look out her window. It was still quite early, so the stars glittered proudly in the night sky. A damp breeze made it's way through her room, carrying a literal breath of fresh air with it. Her sweat had started to stink. She stretched her sore arms over her head with a moan of pain.

These attacks had been happening almost every night since she arrived, but it seemed like they were getting worse rather than better. It always felt like Ruby was being torn in half once that same dream was done… and somehow, it also felt like there was more to that dream than what she could remember.

Something beyond that light…

Sighing, she took in her room at a glance; three paper-thin plaster walls mounted between thick, well-worn wooden beams of an old farmhouse of some kind. If she'd woken up Shiro, there was no doubt the thin walls were to blame – one of the farm hands she worked with joked that you could hear a fly walking on the other side of one of them (a joke she only figured out through gestures).

For Ruby, it wasn't very funny – because she _had_ heard that very thing. They had some big freaking flies out here.

But of all things, they didn't have any Grimm… gods be praised. The people of this world wouldn't last long if there were even a few. No one she'd seen could even come _close_ to qualifying as a Huntress.

Ruby looked outside again in time to see one of the stars streak across the sky, leaving a thin line of starlight in its wake. A bubble of emotion welled up within her, causing her throat to clinch. She hadn't seen a shooting star in… well, forever.

With a tired smile, the redhead quietly said, "If there's some sort of magic words to say here, then I don't know them… but I'll make a wish anyway…"

The wind caressed her cheek, easing the pain in her head just slightly – but it could do nothing for the pain in her heart. Her eyes welled up with tears before she spoke again.

"I wish… I could go home."

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 26:** _  
_ **Sojourn – Book 1**

… … … … …

 **Beyond The Horizon**

… … … … …

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… … …

… … … … …

It seemed a lifetime ago that Ruby Rose first met an older and much smarter version of herself. A woman who went by the name Carmine. This look-alike quickly built a machine pulled straight out of a sci-fi comic book and tore down the barriers between alternate dimensions.

The rest of the duplicates followed shortly after. The 'Ruby Squad.' A total of _seven_ alternate-reality versions of herself. The Beacon Academy dormitories got quite a bit more crowded.

Slowly but surely, Ruby soon found herself getting left behind. Her partner bonded with a _soldier_ version of herself, her sister bonded with a _male_ version of herself, and even Blake fell in love with a _tomboy_ version of herself. And let's not forget about the catgirl, the adult-child, and the mysterious twin…

So many things happened that Ruby sometimes wondered if the whole thing wasn't some sort of fever dream. After all, this world felt just as real…

Maybe _this_ was her real life, and the whole Huntress-in-training thing was the dream…?

" _Aki-chan, shigoto yo,"_ Shiro stuck her head through the door of the bedroom, her white hair already tied back in preparation for the day's labors.

The sun wasn't even up yet, but it was time to go to work.

Even after three months here, Ruby still _hated_ getting up early.

" _Ha~a~a~ai…"_ she replied tiredly. Work at a farm was pretty much ongoing – as long as there was light, there was something to do. Fortunately for Ruby, she was terrible at most of the work needed on the farm.

Unfortunately, that left milking the cows.

She could remember a time when she actually _liked_ milk.

The farm she was on likely had a name and an owner, but up until this point Ruby had missed both. It was just 'the farm' to her. Shiro was one of the dozen or so workers that seemed to have free reign of the property every day, since she had yet to see anyone who looked to be in charge. As best as she could tell, the farm mainly produced a few crops and cows milk. At first she thought they might make cheese on the property, but she'd seen no evidence of any cheese-making equipment.

As a working facility, she noted that it functioned much like farms did back in the days before modern technology – hand-tools, plows driven by steers, and mule-drawn carts to haul goods. Communication was limited at best; if she still _had_ her scroll, Ruby would have bet all her lien that this place had exactly _zero_ signal.

Shiro wore her usual farm clothes today, a basic brown top and rugged pants with dirty, well-worn boots. It was a far cry from the usual immaculate white outfit of her Schnee counterpart. Most of the farmhands wore much the same, and Ruby was no exception. Everyone kept a pair of sturdy gloves on them at all times, too. She found out the hard way how important those were when she had to tackle some barbed wire last month. Bad times.

Ruby had gotten used to milking the cows enough that she could do the job almost without help. Almost. They produced enough of the white stuff that she could not haul it into the tanks without someone to help her. During harvest season (which was about halfway through as far as Ruby could tell), most of the farmhands worked the fields while the rest tended the livestock.

And so, once again, Ruby Rose found herself staring at ten large, smelly animals that were ready to be milked. If it was only ten, then this would be a good day – she could knock out a mere ten before lunch if they didn't fight back too much.

But… first in line was June. Or was it _Jyu-ni…?_ It sounded like June. _This_ cow was one of her fighters. Oh goody.

"I don't suppose you'll behave today, will you?" Ruby asked the cow.

"Moo," the cow replied glumly.

As Ruby began her work, she thought back to the day she first arrived in this place. And how far she'd come since.

The obvious difference in plant life and locals, not to mention the guards who suddenly surrounded her and sounded rather angry, was enough to completely throw her off – as it would be for anybody – and she soon found herself tied up with ropes and marched off to gods knew where. As it turned out, there was a town nearby with a ramshackle prison beneath one building.

Once safely within her cast iron cage, her bonds were cut and she was left to herself. Only here did Ruby notice that her clothes were different – rather than her usual red cloak and black outfit, she wore a mostly brown set of robes of some kind. It was a thin, ragged fabric that seemed more like what a beggar would wear on a street corner.

The next three nights brought several startling revelations to the redhead – the first being that she was physically _different_ than she was before finding herself here. They changes weren't massive, but still noticeable to someone used to seeing a rather specific arrangement of physical features on their own body. While she had no means of checking her reflection, she definitely noticed that her boobs had grown at least one size and she felt slightly taller. Also, her hips felt… wrong. Like they were the wrong shape.

It was as though she had aged 2-3 years in the blink of an eye. How was that even possible?

Then, of course, came the attacks. At first they were mild, waking her up with a throbbing headache, but no more than that – they went away on their own. At that time Ruby felt no fear of having her body ripped apart while her guard was down.

 _That_ came later.

Finally, it became clear to her captors that she either would not or _could_ not answer their questions – and they were not happy about that. No matter how vehemently they pressed her for information, Ruby remained silent. She didn't want to cause any more of a stir than necessary by using words _they_ didn't know.

By sunrise of the fourth day, Ruby's salvation had arrived in the form of a foreign-speaking Weiss. The redhead's confusion only grew, however, as Weiss acted with complete familiarity towards her. It was as though she already knew who Ruby was. Those ice-blue eyes Ruby knew so well seemed disturbed as she learned of Ruby's apparent speaking problem, but the Schnee look-alike proved adaptable – using simple words and motions, she managed to communicate with Ruby enough to get her out of there.

From that point on, Ruby's education in _Nihongo_ began. Weiss taught her basic words for 'water,' 'tree,' 'horse,' and 'quiet,' among many other things. She also learned names – Weiss was called Shiro, Ruby herself was called Aki, and the province they were in was called Mistwood (she wasn't sure how to spell it, she just guessed based on how they said it).

There was also the word _baka…_ Shiro called her that rather frequently. Whatever it meant, she was sure it wasn't a compliment.

Within the first few weeks at the farm, Ruby was disappointed to learn just how _much_ work was required of her… and how little of the work was done with the modern technology she missed so much. She also learned that the concept of Dust as she knew it was as absent as the Grimm – none of her ammo had made the trip with her when she awoke, so she couldn't show anyone by example.

There was one major plus, however – her Aura still functioned normally. That meant she could still use her semblance every so often, but only in total privacy. A world like this would consider her skills no less than black magic. Or demonic. She had yet to figure out what the people of this world believed regarding religion.

Still, it didn't hurt to keep in shape. Squeezing cow udders all day only did so much…

" _Anata wa nani o kangaete iru?"_ a new voice suddenly spoke from a few feet behind her, causing the redhead to jump to her feet with a yelp. The voice belonged to someone who was good at being sneaky. It was also quite… familiar.

Ruby turned to find a young woman with much more than a passing resemblance to a certain blonde brawler – if not for the elaborate hairpins and regal look to her attire, Ruby would never have been able to tell the difference between this woman and Yang Xiao Long. Especially the way their knowing smirks were exactly the same.

Beyond that first impression, however, Ruby had _no idea_ what this Yang look-alike had just asked her… but at least she could tell it _was_ a question. Silence stretched between them, Ruby still refusing to speak if she could help it. The blonde woman's smile began to fade as she realized no answer was forthcoming.

" _Anata ga hanasu koto ga dekiru? Onamae ha nandesuka?"_ she asked a bit more forcefully, no longer amused at the strange girl who refused to speak. The way she carried herself spoke of a noble upbringing – far removed from the Yang she knew.

Ruby backed away hastily, whimpering slightly. The blonde woman took a single step forward, acting as though she might beat the answer out of the poor farmhand.

" _Matte, matte!"_ barked the voice of her repeat savior. Shiro came bounding up to the pair looking winded, as though she'd been frantically searching for something. Or someone. With any luck, it was the latter.

Shiro then proceeded to say something to the blonde that was far too fast for poor Ruby to make out anything, even the most basic words. She slowly realized that this was likely how the Weiss look-alike normally spoke, yet she always slowed her words down for Ruby's sake. As the blonde and the white-haired women exchanged machine-gun _Nihongo,_ Ruby found herself a bit touched by the gesture.

Standing there in a barn still full of cows to be milked, watching a farm worker and a roughshod princess argue in another language, Ruby decided then and there to _make_ herself understand them… no matter how hard it would be. She _would_ learn this… _Nihongo_ thing.

The Yang-looking woman eyed Ruby sidelong, then smirked and commented, _"Shiro-san wa tashika ni kimyona onnanoko o mitsuketa…"_

Shiro sighed, pinching her nose in a very Weiss-like way. _"Shitte iru… Shikashi, watakushi wa kanojo ni torikunda imasu."_

All Ruby could do was wonder just how much she'd missed in the last few minutes.

The blonde woman eventually made her way out, followed closely by Shiro, and Ruby was left alone with the cows once again. She was only about half-done with the job, but she suddenly wanted nothing to do with the fly-ridden things anymore.

Go was next – that's literally what they called her, _Go_ – and she nudged Ruby's arm anxiously. She'd been waiting the entire time and was eager to be done.

"I don't suppose _you_ followed any of that, did you?" Ruby asked the cow dully.

"Moo," the cow replied.

"Didn't think so…"

…

Before she went to bed that night, Ruby received a little present – a small charm in a pouch. It was tied with a chord that hung around her neck. The Yang-woman gave it to her, but obviously she could not clearly explain what it was or what it was meant for. The Weiss-woman just managed to convey one additional piece of information to Ruby – she was to wear it while she slept.

That night was the first night Ruby slept without any dreams at all. She also had no pain to wake her up. No attacks. She knew without a doubt that her charm was the reason, and vowed to never take it off again.

One more month passed at the farm, but then they had to leave it.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Ruby's progress in _Nihongo_ quickly escalated after her encounter with the Yang look-alike. By the time she and Shiro reached town, and as the first of the cold spells set in, she could follow most casual conversations with some ease. Still a long way to go before she could comfortably speak it, though.

Because of her earlier lack of understanding, Ruby still had no idea _why_ they had to travel to town – but once there, she figured out some of the reasons. The colder part of the year didn't leave much work at the farm, and with the harvest basically being complete, all there was to do was deliver their goods and relax.

She also finally figured out who the Yang look-alike was – she owned the farm. Her visit was because she was checking on her employees. Shiro called her Ginryu-san. Or something. An odd name, that.

Ginryu lived in a large mansion near the center of the town (Ruby never heard what the town was called). As her workers, Ruby and Shiro were allowed to stay in a spare room during the cold season. It wasn't a huge home, but it also wasn't small – to Ruby's eyes, it struck a nice balance. It had enough spare rooms to accommodate all of the farmhands, as well as a few servants to take care of the place. One of those servants was assigned specifically to tend to the needs of Shiro and the rest.

Ruby Rose, known as Aki to the people of this world, found herself with _literally_ nothing to do.

Except, of course, for studying the language.

…

… … …

… … … … …

"I thought you said Aki-san was trained to work as a farmhand when I bought her? Didn't you do the research?"

"She _was_ trained! But when I asked the guards at the barracks what happened, they said she took a bump to the head when she fell from the wagon. They think that's why she suddenly forgot how to talk. And work. And do pretty much anything. They only tied her up because they thought she was trying to escape."

"So she forgot herself? That's bad, isn't it? Somehow I doubt I can get my money back…"

"Even if you could, I won't let you take her back. I've… become fond of her, actually."

"Another one? You always did like the runts of the litter… but isn't this a bit much for you, Shiro-san?"

"I can manage just fine, thank you."

"Try not to forget that you're only here because of my mercy. On your own, …well, let's not think about where you would be _then…"_

"Ginryu-san… I haven't forgotten. I owe you my life. And at this point, so does Aki-san."

"That girl… she's got a fire in her eyes like nothing I've ever seen before. She reminds me of my Captain of the Guard… Nikos, remember her?"

"Are you saying she might have the makings of a warrior?"

"It's not impossible."

"No… I won't allow it. All she needs is a bit more attention and she'll be back to normal. No need to send her to the dojo just because you like some look in her eyes."

"You spoil her, you know that don't you?"

"I do not! At least I… I don't _think_ I do…"

"I suppose not. Anyway, it's getting late. You and I have much to discuss tomorrow, Shiro-san."

"Good night, Ginryu-san."

…

… … …

… … … … …

The next week passed without incident. Or activity. Ruby was literally dying of boredom.

She managed to find an empty building at the back of Ginryu's estate, however, and to her eyes it resembled Dad's workout room back home. If nothing else, she seemed free to stretch her legs in here.

If she had Crescent Rose, or at least some sort of reasonable facsimile, she could even practice a bit…

But those were more somber thoughts than she wanted right then.

Instead, she tried to drudge up the distant memories of Yang's short-lived attempt at teaching her hand-to-hand fighting. The little bit that survived all the madness was now put to the test in a form of shadow-boxing. And the shadows won more often than not.

Then, one evening, the Yang look-alike appeared in the room with her. She was dressed more conservatively than before – more like Ruby's work clothes than her own formal wear – and she also seemed ready to do some working out.

Unlike before, Ginryu-san no longer tried to talk to her. Rather, she seemed willing to spar in companionable silence.

Ruby was struck with just how similar Ginryu was to Yang at that moment. More than looks – this woman now showed the same big-sister attitude.

But she was a _way_ better teacher. Ruby actually found herself … _learning_ this stuff.

Would wonders never cease?

…

It was currently around midnight, and as far as Ruby could tell it was shortly after the winter solstice. And it was cold outside.

The moon shone brightly from a cloudless sky, illuminating the small city around her almost like the sun was out. It was that bright. Since Ruby couldn't sleep, she sat out on the porch of the house watching the night. And thinking. And watching her breath steam in front of her face.

She was missing her team. And her sister.

Before her thoughts got very far into that, however… she felt a tingle on the back of her neck. Something was up. Something …back in the house?

Following that feeling, Ruby wandered through the building until she found herself at Ginryu's bedroom. No one in this world seemed to use normal doors, with normal knobs and locks, so she easily slid the door open to take a peek. The Yang-woman was sleeping peacefully, no problems, and Ruby took a deep breath.

A glimmer of light moved in the rafters just above Ginryu's sleeping form.

Ruby moved quickly and without too much thinking, darting into the room and leaping into the dark space above the woman without so much as a light thump on the floor. She dove blindly, aiming for the spot where she saw the glimmer.

In the darkness, she hit a body. She heard a light grunt as she knocked… whoever it was into the next room.

No lamps were lit in the rest of the house. She was fighting blind.

The shadowy figure regained it's feet quickly, darting back over to attack Ruby again. The girl was on her own feet just as fast, but with no weapon she was at a severe disadvantage. Luckily her night vision was fully active.

Running through the rooms, Ruby caught hold of a long stick. Somehow. It was no Crescent Rose, but it was good enough for the moment. In the span of a heartbeat, she darted back the way she came and caught her attacker off guard, sending the two of them tumbling outside.

In the harsh moonlight, Ruby could finally see her opponent.

It was a ninja.

A real. Freaking. _Ninja!_

Ruby could barely contain her glee as she leapt into the fray, stick blurring and spinning. The ninja countered her moves, but was unable to get any strikes past the shaft of wood. A small knife flickered into view every so often, but Ruby countered it with no issues.

Her senses were more alive than ever before. Her hands moved faster than she'd ever moved them before.

But then, as the ninja let loose a handful of throwing stars, time… slowed down. The blades rotated lazily through the air, so slowly that Ruby could actually see every single scratch across the surface of the metal.

It was just like the battle back home. Against the Grimm.

She'd almost forgotten about that.

Still… it wasn't unwelcome. Ninjas don't fight for knockouts. Ruby moved rapidly, defying the normal flow of time and space, and let loose a staff-based combo that literally left the ninja floating in the air.

She could see the shadow warrior's eyes grow wide with pure shock. Not that Ruby could blame her – few people have ever been knocked around by someone who could _ignore_ the laws of the universe.

All at once, the ninja fell to the ground at normal speed. The time-warping had worn off.

Ruby dropped to one knee, short of breath and sweating. That had taken more out of her than she expected. The ninja lay still, breathing shallowly and moaning faintly. Neither combatant moved. The air was still around them. Not even crickets disturbed the silence.

Ruby soon heard the sound of soft clapping coming from the house behind her. She turned to find Ginryu walking slowly towards them, looking royally amused. Or maybe smug. Hard to tell.

When Ginryu bent down to the ninja, she grabbed the mask and pulled – and Ruby was treated to a surprise that wasn't really a surprise.

The ninja was Blake.

Of course it was.

Standing the Blake-ninja upright and shaking her awake, Ginryu and the ninja spent almost ten minutes exchanging _Nihongo_ too low to make out. It sounded serious, though.

Once finished, Ginryu walked over and stood Ruby to her feet and motioned Blake over to them. The ninja complied, then… _knelt down in front of Ruby._

Ginryu said something to the ninja, then looked at Ruby and motioned towards the ninja and said one word, _"…Kuro."_

Kuro meant black. Fitting.

The Blake look-alike spoke in a solemn tone, but used words Ruby didn't know. At all. She also didn't look _at_ Ruby while she spoke.

The redhead was at a loss. Was this some kind of ritual? Was there something she was supposed to say?

Ginryu leaned close and whispered, _"…'Watashi wa anata no chikai o ukeiremasu. Tate'…"_

Ruby stuttered through the words, trying to sound as official as possible.

The Blake-ninja stood up, looking Ruby dead in the eyes, and nodded. She didn't have any cat ears, but other than that she was identical to Ruby's faunus friend from back home. Kuro put her fist over her chest and nodded, as serious as anyone she had ever seen.

" _Kanojo wa ima anata no monodesu. Kanojo o jozu ni tsukatte kudasai,"_ Ginryu said mysteriously. She was also grinning.

Something about that grin was a bit… disconcerting.

All at once, a runner came darting through the gates in a panic. He shot out a stream of machine-gun _Nihongo_ at Ginryu, then looked out over the city with a clear look of fear. Ginryu followed his gaze as her own face grew into a thunderhead.

Ruby looked… and dropped her stick.

Out in the distance, past the edges of the city, was an army of torches. Hundreds of them. _Thousands._ The city was surrounded.

Ginryu gave the runner a stern order, who then ran into the house. Alarm bells started ringing all through the estate, as well as the city itself.

Even if she didn't understand the words, Ruby could tell what was happening.

A war had just started.

And she didn't have any real weapons to use.

Crap.

… … … … …

… … …

…

 **[ Continued in Next Chapter ]**

* * *

…

(Source for Japanese Language: Google)


	27. SOJOURN: Beyond the Horizon (pt2)

**Quick Note: Since I don't wanna translate** _ **every**_ **line of dialogue into** _ **Nihongo**_ **, just pretend I did. Once Ruby learns the language, she'll be talking like everyone else anyway. So, unless otherwise specified, all speech in this chapter is actually** _ **Nihongo**_ **(aka, Japanese)** _ **.**_

* * *

…

… … …

… … … … …

The land of _Nippon_ was in turmoil.

Four years ago, the Emperor and all three of his wives were killed in a tragic accident involving a carriage going off the side of the road and wrecking. It was said that something spooked the horses, causing the entire caravan to leave the road and fall off a nearby cliff.

In the wake of their deaths, all of their sons and daughters suddenly vanished. Kasai-dono, the highest-ranking noblewoman of the courts, declared herself Regent and began the process of naming herself the new Empress.

More than half the court fought back against her. Unfortunately, she was expecting this: Kasai already had a large mercenary force, the _Haiena_ , ready to suppress any and all voices of dissent.

The Loyalists, as they soon came to be known, took heavy losses in the beginning. Their sheer numbers and determination allowed them to recover and reform, setting up a proper military response. Their aim: unseat the Regent and restore the Yukimura Dynasty to power. Without a proper heir, however, they would have a hard fight ahead of them.

It was truly a civil war.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 27:** _  
_ **Beyond The Horizon (part 2)**

… … … … …

… … …

…

Six months after fleeing the city, Ruby hadn't seen _any_ fighting.

As soon as the armies reached the city, and Ginryu's estate, both Ruby and Shiro were quickly whisked away in the night. Things happened so fast that Ruby's eyes were still spinning by the time the sun rose the next morning… and they were already several miles away.

Of all places, they soon found themselves back at the farm.

But they weren't there to work.

Along with the two of them, Ginryu also sent a large contingent of soldiers and a few loyal nobles. The former quickly got to work transforming the humble stretch of land into a defensible position – including a perimeter of wooden posts and armed guards – while the latter had another job.

They had to … _train_ Ruby. Another word would be _tutor._

Oh, goody.

…

The first two months were devoted to setting up the land. The farmhouse was modified (some would call it remodeled) to be a bit more comfortable for the various nobles who now had to call it home. Ruby's first job was to finish her education on the language of _Nihongo._

With the help of proper teachers, Ruby learned the language rapidly. She could hold basic conversations within the first month. By the end of the second month, all of her tutors declared her language training complete.

After that came other schooling. Ruby learned the history of the country, the systems of nobility that ran the place, and loads of other things that was supposed to be necessary for a 'proper lady.'

Ruby enjoyed the schooling to a point, but found herself pining for some freedom.

On the other hand, Shiro seemed ready to jump out of a window.

Kuro was also there, but she only appeared every so often to make sure Ruby remembered she _was_ there. Otherwise she was simply a shadow. As far as Ruby could piece together, Kuro had sworn herself to Ruby as some sort of bodyguard – what she could remember of that oath translated as such.

All over the farm there was a feeling of tension. Of holding your breath and waiting for the other shoe to drop. No one knew quite what to expect in the coming months – would Ginryu-san return victorious? Would she return at all?

Ruby had other things on her mind. After spending close to a full year in this world, she had _finally_ gotten to see herself in a mirror. Turns out such things were luxuries only allowed to the rich or well-connected in society. One of her teachers lent her one so she could practice styling her own hair. Up until this point, she had seen no reflective surfaces at all.

The face that looked back at her from that mirror… belonged to someone else.

Her entire face was the wrong shape, her chin too short, her nose too small… other than her eye color, Ruby could see almost nothing of her own face. Even her hair was fully black, rather than her normal dark-red color. It was also a totally different style.

She was still Ruby… right?

Suddenly she wasn't so sure…

The time she spent at Beacon, and her life on Patch with Dad and Yang… was growing more and more faint with each passing week. Even the more recent events of meeting all those alternate-world versions of herself was turning into a vivid dream, rather than true memories.

 _Was_ she Aki-chan? Or Ruby Rose?

By this point, did it still matter?

In the midst of her personal crisis, Ginryu returned to the farm. And she brought more than one piece of startling news.

…

The farmhouse was once the center of the whole farmstead – now it was a small castle, while the fields were its moat. At the center of the house was a wide open space, once used for sit-down meals among the farm workers. It now held a massive table with a map laid out over it. A war room.

Ginryu was there, her violet eyes glaring over every inch of the map as she studied the layout of the small tokens and chips – items that indicated troops and strongholds, if Ruby guessed right. The Yang look-alike was dressed for battle – her various armor pieces gleamed in the dim light of the candles all around the room.

Shiro was also present, but in simpler attire. Even though she wore robes and things more tailored to the region, Ruby was struck by how similar she ended up looking to Weiss, both in color and attitude. Her ice-blue eyes alternated between the map and her friend.

Ginryu had dismissed all of her other advisors and officers. This was a private meeting between the three of them… though why Ruby was there was still a mystery.

"Aki-san," the blonde woman interrupted her thoughts, "How has your language training progressed? Can you speak naturally now?"

"That's what they tell me," she replied.

Ginryu nodded, seemingly satisfied, "Good. I need to get you both up to speed on our situation."

"It must be pretty bad if you came all the way out here," Shiro added, her tone sour.

"Actually, it's quite good. The Loyalists have routed most of the _Haiena,_ and the only forces left under Kasai-dono's authority are holed up in the capital. If we mount a large enough force, we can end this in a matter of weeks," Ginryu said with no small amount of pride in her voice.

"…Unless they're waiting to ambush you," Ruby added somberly.

" _Aki-san!"_ Shiro bristled.

Ginryu raised a hand, "No, she's right. I suspected the same thing when I heard the news. It's likely she has the place laden with all manner of traps. That's the kind of woman she is. Still, with good enough knowledge of the terrain, we can still come out on top."

"A siege?"

"Only if no other option looks good. I'd rather not devote our soldiers to a prolonged campaign. Most of them are ready to go home _now."_

"So… if you have everything in hand… then why come here? What help could _we_ give?" Ruby asked with genuine curiosity.

The blonde woman didn't answer right away, and when Ruby looked she was treated to the sight of Ginryu and Shiro locked in a staring contest.

"…No…" Shiro breathed.

"… _Yes_ …" Ginryu answered.

"Ginryu-san, I told you already that it won't happen! I… _can't…_ be what you want me to be!"

"There is no one else. Once this is over, we _need_ someone to take the throne…"

" _NO!"_

"Everyone else in your family is gone, Shiro-san… You are the last of the Yukimura line…"

" _THAT'S BECAUSE I KILLED THEM! !"_

Shiro was in tears as she shrieked that last line. Ginryu looked like she wanted to dart around the war table and embrace her friend in a hug. Ruby just hung back, staring at the exchange with wide eyes. And trying desperately to keep up.

Shiro was a …princess? A _real_ princess?

"Shiro-ojou… no one is blaming you for the accident…"

"But you _know_ what happened! _I_ spooked those horses… _I_ caused the carriage to run off the road… _I… I…"_

" _ENOUGH!"_ Ginryu cut off Shiro's wailing with a sharp slap to the tabletop. "There is _no one else._ I will serve _no other Empress,_ do you hear me?!"

Shiro had moved quickly at the interruption. She was almost hiding behind Ruby, now. Ginryu ignored that as she slowly moved around the table and knelt down before Shiro in total reverence.

"I am Kojima Ginryu, head of the family Ginryu, and I pledge my sword to Your Eminence. By my life, and my death, I will protect you. Upon my honor, I pledge my blood to the Yukimura Dynasty."

Shiro looked like she wanted to slap the woman silly, but she held back. As Ruby watched, the girl who had only been a farmhand up until now suddenly changed – her stance, her poise, her entire person took on a noble flavor.

"In the name of the Yukimura Dynasty, I accept your vow. Rise. … … …You'll pay for this Ginryu-san…"

In that moment, Ruby felt like a filthy commoner who had been allowed to witness a moment of high-living. She had a strong sense that she didn't belong in the room with them.

In the blink of an eye, Shiro had transformed… into royalty.

"Aki-sama…" Ginryu said as she stood, turning to Ruby, "I hope you will help us, too. Your presence would give both of us some comfort."

Her presence? Not her _skills?_ "I… um… I suppose. If I don't, I'll be stuck _here_. Not fun. Not even a few cows to milk…"

Rambling had become a defense mechanism. Ruby had so many issues with this situation that it would give Yang joke material for weeks on end.

Yang… or was that Ginryu? Was there a difference anymore…?

Ginryu gave Ruby a firm handshake, wearing that knowing smirk of hers. "Good to have you onboard, Aki-sama. I'll have my smiths get you fitted for some armor before we head out. We'll be heading into the final fight of this war, but it never hurts to be prepared."

Ruby… or Aki, as they called her… gave a nervous chuckle.

Would she be alright?

…

… … …

… … … … …

One month later, the final battle of the war loomed.

Just as Ginryu-san predicted, all remaining soldiers of the _Haiena_ had barricaded themselves within the walls of the capital. Kasai-dono herself seemed ready to force the issue, having been seen by most of the scouts as being in the city. All possible exits had been blocked. No one was getting in or out without Ginryu-san knowing about it.

The city itself was vast, but walled on all sides – even taking into account possible 'secret' escape routes, it was relatively easy to keep an eye on the entire perimeter. No mountains stood close by, nor rivers. Just broad, flat land that stretched for miles. Water was supplied by underground reservoirs, all of which were closely guarded.

An unnamed hill stood closest to the main gates, so Ginryu-san had her main headquarters set up on top of it. From that vantage point, the blonde woman could issue orders in response to any enemy movement. It was a wonderful advantage.

Aki didn't care, though. She was still pissed about not getting a weapon.

"But you _know_ I can fight! Why bother bringing me at all if you were just going to pen me up in your tent like a hound?!"

"Aki-sama, we've been over this a dozen times!" the commander retorted. "You are important to Her Eminence as a _lady of the court,_ not as a _soldier!"_ She emphasized her point by smacking the war table once again. It was starting to buckle under the constant impacts.

"Gods take me before I become somebody's _dress-up doll…!"_ the girl growled in response. She stalked out of the tent before Ginryu-san could protest.

Glaring out over the distant capital city, Aki thought back to her memories of the girl called Ruby Rose. _She_ could fight, of that there was no question. But was she really that girl? Had she ever been? She had been certain, once… until she saw her own face. Everything changed after that.

She was Aki-san, with no family name. In her head were memories from another life.

She had been bought as a slave to work at Ginryu's farm, then bumped her head when she fell from the wagon. That was all.

Or was it?

Why was it so hard to concentrate on such things?

Why did she feel like she didn't know herself… at all?

"Aki-chan!"

Shiro-sama's voice pulled her out of her reverie. She turned to regard her friend and savior – the one who rescued her from her own confused head almost a year ago. The regal woman now wore the finest set of armor in the whole camp, with white plates that gleamed in the late evening sun.

"If you are quite finished riling up my commander, you should get some rest. We all have a big day ahead of us tomorrow," she said kindly.

Aki crossed her arms sourly, "…Not _all_ of us…"

"Aki… you have an important job, too…" she tried to convince the younger girl, but Aki would have none of it. Even dropping the honorifics did nothing to lighten the mood. Sensing a good moment during a pause, Shiro-sama added, "If you behave… I'll let you have a present…"

One eyebrow lifted. "I'm listening…"

The would-be Empress chuckled, "Some of our scouts found a strange black metal in the wilderness last week. I know of your curiosity with new things, so I had them bring it in… for you to play with."

Aki was most certainly curious, but she stubbornly refused to give her old friend the satisfaction of being right. "It _might_ serve to _pass the time_ while you and Ginryu-san go out and have _all the fun._ Good _Evening_ to you, Your _Eminence,"_ she emphasized each word with a snarl.

Her feet were too small to make the stomping very effective as Aki made her way to her tent. She clearly heard Shiro-sama sighing behind her.

Why wouldn't they just give her a chance? She knew she could do it…

No… _Ruby Rose_ could do it. But she was just Aki-san.

Wasn't she?

So distracted by these thoughts was Aki that she stubbed her toe on an ornate box sitting in the center of her tent. It was large enough that she could have crawled inside it, but that was about it. Not to mention that it had been carved and gilded to within an inch of its life.

Without opening it, Aki knew it must be the 'present' Shiro mentioned. Yet despite the woman's description of it, Aki found her curiosity already dying off. Instead she changed out of her robes and slipped into her futon.

Of course, sleep came slowly. Even fingering her charm did nothing to help her relax. The thing had been with her ever since the day Ginryu-san gave it to her, and Aki never slept without it.

But… she was having trouble remembering why. It had something to do with pain… a headache? …but she couldn't be sure anymore.

Had her memory always been this bad? Was that why she forgot how to speak in the first place?

The memory of Ruby Rose faded just a little bit more as she fell asleep once again. Tomorrow would be a noisy day, but she wasn't looking forward to it.

…

… … …

… … … … …

The next morning, Ginryu-san's forces attacked the gates. In contrast to what was expected, however, they didn't have to smash them down and run a gauntlet of traps – instead, something opened them from the inside and came out to meet the advancing soldiers.

Something large, black, and dangerous-looking. Something that charged out in waves upon waves of numbers.

Something… really familiar to Aki.

Even from her high vantage point on the hill, Aki could easily tell that the presence of these new demons had a very negative effect on morale. The troops that didn't run at first sight found themselves at a severe disadvantage. Those that did wound up sacrificing hard-won ground, which the monsters took without any issue. It was rapidly turning into a rout.

And it had barely been 10 minutes. The Creatures of Grimm worked fast.

Creatures of… Grimm? Why did she know that name? What was a _Grimm?_

Ignoring the distant screaming, Aki turned to go back into her tent. Her head was starting to hurt again, and she wanted something to ease it. Her mind warred with itself as she fumbled through her things, looking for her oils. Or her powders. Whatever she could find.

Powders… Dust… High-Impact Sniper Rifle…

Wait, what? What was a 'sniper rifle?'

Ginryu-san… Yang Xiao Long… Shiro-sama… Weiss Schnee… Kuro… Blake Belladonna…

 _Who were these people in her head?!_

 _Who was SHE?!_ Aki or Ruby Rose?

Crescent Rose… Taiyang Xiao Long… Qrow Branwen… Names and faces she knew… from another life… as Ruby Rose… and one more…

…Summer Rose.

A sudden jolt of pain caused Aki to stumble backwards, hitting her heel on the box and knocking the lid off. She looked in and saw… something black.

A new word floated to the forefront of her mind. A word from her memories. A word that should have meant nothing to her, yet… the substance before her looked too familiar to be dismissed.

"…Omega…?" she whispered.

The blackness within the box rippled at her word, almost as though it … _heard_ her. Was it alive?

Aki watched as her right hand lifted on it's own, coming up to face level. The fingers took a familiar shape, and… she _snapped_ her fingers. Hard.

The blackness came alive, flowing like living water up and into the air in numerous thin tendrils. Aki wanted to scream, but her mind was once again rebelling against itself. The substance flowed into her open hand, and all she could think of was how beautiful it was.

Before she knew what was happening, it was all over. The black metal, the living substance, had formed the shape of a weapon in her hand. A weapon she knew well.

Crescent Rose. The weapon of Ruby Rose.

 _HER_ weapon.

_/_/_/_/_/

" _So what you're telling me…" Ruby started warily, "…is that this thing somehow_ bonded _to me?"_

 _Carmine nodded somberly. "That's how it looks. No matter what I try, I can't get into his programming and reset anything. I can't get him to come back to me, his_ creator! _So sad… but Omega Rose now answers to you alone."_

" _It's not… like… gonna cover me and corrupt my mind or anything, right? I don't think Yang would like it if she came in the room one day and heard me say 'We are Venom!'… or anything like that."_

" _Oh don't worry, …I disabled that feature last year," the Mad Scientist chuckled._

 _Ruby sweat-dropped at her tone._

" _I'm kidding! Goodness…"_

" _Oh, by the way… why do you refer to it as a 'he' …?"_

 _Carmine's face took on that chesire grin as she replied, "…I'll tell you when you're older, kiddo. :3"_

_/_/_/_/_/

Omega Rose. Product of Carmine the Mad Scientist.

Bonded to Ruby Rose. To _her._

Even with a different face, Omega knew exactly who his master was. He knew her better than she knew herself, it seemed.

Aki simply stared at the black weapon before her, letting the thoughts and memories collide in her mind. She also wondered if her head would explode before or after she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

A single tendril of black snaked out of Omega's form, reaching under Aki's robes and taking hold of her charm. Aki was angry at first, but that anger vanished as she noticed the charm glowing like an open flame.

Omega yanked… and the charm came free. The glow instantly went out.

All of a sudden, Aki felt like two completely different people occupying the same space. She felt very …disconnected from reality.

A voice, ancient and immense, returned to her memory like a flood.

_/_/_/_/_/

 _THE SHADOW SEEKS A PLACE IN THE LIGHT_

_/_/_/_/_/

There must have been more to the message, but the voice quickly grew quiet. That she remembered even _that_ part was a miracle – the message had come to her before she even arrived in this world. Before waking up as Aki… but after being pulled from her own world of Remnant. From her family. From the truth.

Aki closed her eyes… and Ruby Rose opened them.

There was no more confusion. No more pain, no more foggy memories.

There was only Grimm to kill.

And she had Omega with her.

Focusing her aura for the first time in forever, Ruby Rose drew deep on the power within her… and found the light once again.

…

… … …

… … … … …

If you asked 20 different people what happened at the final battle of the war, you would get 20 different answers. Most of them agreed on the general flow of events, though.

Kojima Ginryu, commander of the Loyalist forces, had been on the field personally (which she always preferred). The black monsters were a surprise, but not impossible to kill. She would have been overwhelmed by numbers, if not for the timely arrival of Aki-sama – though she was like a completely different person. She wielded a massive scythe weapon with the speed of the God of Lighting himself, cutting down scores of the beasts in little to no time at all. Maybe it was a trick of the morning light, but her eyes almost looked to be glowing…

Yukimura Shiro was not on the field, but she was close to it. The plan was to cut a path for her to charge into the city and attempt to take the throne by force. She was no warrior, but she could hold her own with a shorter sword. The beast that attacked her, however, didn't care about that. But then it lost it's head in the blink of an eye… and there was Aki-san, moving with the speed and grace of a _kamaitachi._ She was a whirlwind of death. Shiro found herself enraptured.

Kuro saw almost nothing. All she knew was that her master was not acting like herself, but then the girl simply… _vanished._ The fighting outside suddenly escalated as the black monsters were harvested like ripe wheat. Did that strange black substance have something to do with it? She would have to investigate. She would protect her master, no matter what.

The black monsters had nearly wiped out the Loyalists.

Aki-sama had single-handedly wiped _them_ out in return.

…

The throne room sat before them, vast and empty. At the far end stood the throne itself, a regal-looking chair that gave it's occupant the best view in the room. As Ginryu, Shiro and Ruby made their way down the center of the space, two figures could be seen next to it.

The first person of note stood tall, taller than even Ginryu, and wore a full suit of plate armor that covered everything. No details of who was within the armor could be seen, but the person was most certainly tall. The armor itself was painted a lovely shade of red with black trim. The imposing figure stood to one side of the chair, arms crossed.

The second person sat on the throne, and even from a distance Ruby could recognize the hair and face of Cinder Fall. No doubt that was the one called Kasai-dono. She was slightly slumped in the seat, but otherwise identical to the Cinder that Ruby remembered.

Neither person made any move to welcome the trio. No other person was present.

Once they were close enough, Ruby gasped as she realized a startling fact – Kasai-dono would not be getting up on her own ever again.

A dagger handle was sticking out of the center of her chest. She was dead.

" _What is the meaning of this?!"_ Shiro barked, drawing her weapon.

The armored stranger lifted one hand, the spoke a single word that echoed within the helmet, "Freeze."

The word was spoken in English. Not _Nihongo._

Ruby's eyes went wide as she stared at the armored stranger, unable to believe her ears.

"Don't worry," the voice came again, "I only wish to talk without interruption. You have done well to smash your way to victory this day. I was sure my Grimm would finish the job, but I didn't count on a Silver-eyed warrior showing up…"

"What…" Ruby replied in English automatically, "Who are you…?"

A light moaning came from either side of her, and Ruby turned to find both Ginryu and Shiro frozen in place. Not with actual ice, but they appeared to be paralyzed. Both looked to be breathing and their eyes could still move, but nothing else.

"Have no fear… they are unharmed. And they cannot understand us now."

The stranger finally removed the helmet… and Ruby was suddenly looking at a fully-grown version of herself. The only true difference was the eyepatch covering the woman's right eye – beyond that, the woman was the spitting image of Ruby Rose.

"You may call me General Vermillion, if you wish," the woman said, now unmuffled by the helmet. Her voice was deep, but still feminine enough to tell she was a woman. The face bore quite a few hard lines that gave it a masculine quality.

"Why are you doing this? You're not from this world at all, are you?" Ruby demanded.

"Ooh… a smart one at last. This _'Kasai'_ woman was too gullible for her own good. Spicy little thing, though…" the General licked her lips as she mused, "Good between the sheets…"

" _Stay on topic!_ Tell me why you're here!"

"Heh, you'll learn soon enough, kid…" The woman calling herself Vermillion looked over at the still form of Kasai-dono with a look that was almost regret. "In truth, I was never much invested in this world. Believe it or not, my goal was simply to get a working government running again. Kasai here was the best candidate for that…"

"You expect me to believe that you treated this war as a personal _game?!"_

"Believe whatever you like. Just know that 'order' is always my end goal. Now that you've brought _her_ here…" that lone silver eye glanced at Shiro, "Maybe you can succeed where Kasai failed."

"Wait…" Ruby rubbed her head wearily, "You're just gonna walk away?"

"I've got much bigger fish to fry, you know. Lots of worlds out there on the brink of chaos. Lots of worlds ready to destroy themselves if left alone. Who better to get them out of that than yours truly?"

Ruby had no more words to say. Her jaw was left gaping.

Suddenly there was a beeping noise somewhere in the room, and the General glanced down at her arm. She clicked her teeth and muttered, "Perfect timing, as usual… Well Miss Silver-Eyes, I'm off. Do take care of your new Empress for a while, would you? I'd hate to have to come back and fix _another_ corrupt government… Oh, before I forget, I left a few scrolls in my quarters that should come in handy for later."

And then, in a strange moment, the woman's eyepatch opened like the cover of a pocket watch. A second silver eye stared at them for a moment as she said, "Once I leave, you two will forget about me. And _you_ will not follow." That last part was aimed at Ruby.

The woman turned and casually walked out of the room. Ruby couldn't have followed if she wanted to. Her feet felt like they were welded to the floor.

The shift back to _Nihongo_ was rapid once the freezing wore off. Both Ginryu and Shiro were perplexed at the state of the room, and neither one of them had any memory of a second woman in plate armor.

With any luck, Ruby would never see that woman again. There was something dangerous about her.

Using Omega's shaft as support, Ruby sunk to the floor and gave a deep sigh of relief. The war was over.

And yet… what else was she in for? When would it actually end?

…

 **[** **Concluded in Next Chapter ]**

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry… I just can't bear to stuff everything that's left into one chapter. Part 3 will be the last one here, I promise! :) And then the story (finally) continues…**

 **On another note, the General Ruby finally has a name. And for those of you who are wondering (and I know some of you are), she was loosely inspired by the main character from** _ **Code Geass**_ **(whose name I cannot spell)** _ **.**_

 **Later!**

 **=^w^=**


	28. SOJOURN: Beyond the Horizon (pt3)

**A/N: Okay, folks… time for the finale for the first part of Ruby's solo journey (her 'Sojourn'). It won't be as exciting as the previous entry, but I can't leave it out completely. As before, just pretend that everyone is speaking** _ **Nihongo.**_

* * *

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Designation: Remnant-1004 (Nippon World)_

 _Status: Foreign energy detected – unknown in origin – otherwise stable. Technological development below standard. Civilians recovering from recent fighting._

 _Condition: Green_

 _Recommendation: Continued observation with limited interaction._

… … … … …

… … …

…

Reconstruction is a slow and painful process. The few pockets of resistance had to be quelled before they could do any damage, but thankfully those were few and far between. Law had to be reestablished in whatever way possible.

Thankfully Ruby was not required for any of that. She had more than enough to think about on her own.

Ever since the day Omega had taken her charm away, Ruby had started remembering things. Names, places, events… but they did not belong to her. They belonged to Aki. The _real_ Aki.

She was now in possession of two distinctly different sets of memories.

The first three weeks of reconstruction went by without Ruby at all. She spent the entire time cooped up in her room, simply going over the newly revealed information in her mind. Trying to piece together exactly who Aki used to be before… well, before Ruby came into the picture. It didn't take too long, either.

Based on what she remembered, Aki was born into a peasant home and knew only poverty and malnutrition. Being captured and sold into slavery was actually the best thing to happen to her – a slave had to be kept in decent health if they were to work, after all.

It was then that she met Shiro for the first time. The two of them hit it off well, despite all odds being against it. Shiro actually tried to give Aki a little bit of tutoring before she was officially bought by Ginryu-san and shipped off to the farm.

Along the way, the wagon hit a bump and tossed Aki out onto the road. She hit her head and blacked out…

And Ruby Rose woke up in her place.

But that still left one big honking question – _WHY?_

Why did she travel to another world and take over someone else's body, rather than keep her own? Why did she almost forget about where she really came from? And why the _hell_ did Omega Rose follow her here?

Too many questions, not enough answers… or time to come up with them. At the end of the three weeks, Ruby had to come out and take her place among Shiro's new court.

 _Gods_ did that sound boring.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Shiro made sure to keep her word – she made Ginryu-san work _extra_ hard during the reconstruction. That woman would have very little rest before it was over.

But she did not abandon her family name. Not again. Once was enough.

Without Aki at her side, Shiro was determined to put off the official coronation as long as possible. This allowed her to focus her attention on the more legalistic aspects of the job, such as revising current laws.

Before shutting herself in, Aki did point out a few scrolls in Kasai-dono's old bedchambers. Within them were several detailed plans for new housing projects, grain storage, and even plans for newer, stronger boats. They were extraordinary, and the fledgling empress wasted no time in putting them all to work right away. There was no doubt that these plans would accelerate the progress of the entire kingdom by at least a decade. Maybe more.

She never bothered to question where they came from. She trusted Aki's judgement.

In fact, she trusted that girl with her _life._

But was that all…?

Yukimura Shiro didn't want to believe that she was falling _in love_ with another woman. It wasn't unheard of in this country, but… an empress needed to produce an heir. That meant she needed a husband, not… a fling.

Regardless of her feelings on the matter, Shiro often found herself longing for Aki's company. Something about that girl just… set her mind at ease.

Hopefully it would pass. Soon.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Kuro the ninja was torn.

On the one hand, she had her loyalty to her master. There was no doubt that the awkward girl she had sworn herself to had little to no clue what she was getting herself into when she accepted Kuro's oath, but that made little difference. The girl had beaten her soundly in combat. That was enough.

On the other hand… Kuro found herself _fascinated_ by the girl.

The strange black substance was always close at hand when master was near, and Kuro had no desire to come close to it. Master seemed quite alright with it, however. In fact, master appeared to be quite adept at handling it as though it were an extension of her own body. It was quite a sight to behold.

And then there was that conversation master had with that armored woman. Kuro had watched the exchange while hiding in the rafters above the group, so she was unaffected by the strange magic that made the princess and the commander unable to move. She could follow none of the conversation, unfortunately – both speakers used strange words.

Was there no end to master's surprises?

Still, she vowed to remember that tall woman. She had the same silver eyes as master. Possibly a distant relative? Worth investigating.

Kuro was a part of the shadows, and always had been. But she could only resist the light for so long…

…

… … …

… … … … …

Kojima Ginryu was completely worn out by the time she returned to the capitol.

Shiro certainly made her 'pay for it' …by working her almost to death. Ginryu didn't care. She made a vow and she fully intended to keep it, no matter the cost.

Still… even _she_ needed a break sometimes.

During her three-week tour of the country, Ginryu found herself remembering Aki-sama's fighting at the gates of the city. Dreaming of it, really. That girl was _beyond_ exceptional. Never before had the blonde woman seen a scythe wielded with such deadly skill. Nor had she seen one of that _size._

But more than that, the spark had returned to Aki-sama's eyes. The spark she had seen back when the girl forgot how to talk. The spark she had thought lost not long after the war came to Ginryu's doorstep.

While the blonde woman traveled, she made arrangements. Aki-sama would have a bit of a surprise when things settled down.

As she flopped down in her own bed, finally free to sleep, Ginryu grinned as she pictured the look on Aki-sama's face when her new instructor arrived…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 28:** _  
_ **Beyond The Horizon (part 3)**

… … … … …

… … …

…

A lot of things began to happen once Ruby came out of her room. Most of them kind of …blurred by.

She first learned the ins and outs of being the 'proper' lady that Shiro-san wanted her to be. Various other 'ladies' of the court accompanied her quite often, a few of which looked familiar to Ruby – one actually looked a little like Professor Goodwitch – but for the most part Ruby preferred to keep to herself.

Shiro-san began to refuse to make any decisions without Ruby in the room, giving her advisors no end of headaches. There was no real reason for it, but the woman was nothing if not stubborn. Ruby never offered any sort of advice on any of the woman's declarations, so why she waited for Ruby to be there at all was a real mystery.

Not that she was annoyed by it or anything. Shiro was much more pleasant company than Weiss ever was. Of course, thinking of Weiss caused Ruby to slip into a mild depression.

Ginryu sought to fix that right quick. The woman who looked so much like her own sister took her aside one day and introduced her to a new resident of the palace – a young man who was the spitting image of Lie Ren.

"Aki-sama… this is Master Oum," Ginryu said proudly. "His _Nihongo_ is spotty at best, but there is no one more skilled in the martial arts. He has agreed to pass his skills on to you."

The man bowed low, a motion filled with respect. He said nothing.

Ruby simply stared, unable to reply.

Ginryu brought a karate guy in… just for her?

If she hadn't been told ahead of time that it was rude, Ruby would have _kissed_ the blonde woman right then and there. As it was, she barely managed to contain her squeal of joy.

Oh this was gonna be _fun._

…

This was where the weeks passed by in a blur. Master Oum's lessons were strict, but Ruby found herself taking to them quite readily. After just one month, she actually pulled out a win in a sparring match with Ginryu.

After a further two months, Ruby was confident she could hold her own against the real Yang… at least until the girl's semblance flared up and she sent Ruby flying over the horizon with one punch.

She shared this concern with Master Oum, who decided to work with Ruby and develop a counter-move to deal with a power hitter. It was not easy – Yang's power and speed were not to be trifled with once she was fully powered up.

Master Oum's answer was a series of rapid nerve strikes.

Using his extensive knowledge of the body's nervous system, he showed Ruby the most vital points on every person she would face in combat. Using her insane speed, Ruby soon came up with a few combinations to try.

Now all she needed was a training dummy.

Poor Ginryu had no idea what she was volunteering for. At least she would wake up within a few days, according to the medics.

…

Kuro slowly transitioned from bodyguard in the shadows to Ruby's private handmaid. Somehow.

And she seemed happy about it.

Must be a ninja thing.

Once her title as a proper 'lady' was official, Ruby was no longer able to change her own clothes – Kuro was always right there, ready and waiting to do the job for her. Ruby often wondered if the ninja simply wanted to take a peek…

But no, that wasn't likely. Was it?

Kuro's golden yellow eyes were always averted whenever Ruby checked to see if she _was_ peeking, so maybe not. The ninja girl didn't strike Ruby as a closet pervert. She was probably just overthinking things.

Of course, the woman's daggers were never far away. Anytime Ruby took a walk down the hallways, Kuro was right behind her. And anytime they approached another servant, the woman had one knife tucked behind a hand.

As though Ruby couldn't defend herself. Heh.

Kuro's antics slowed down once she accepted an offer to a sparring session with her 'master' that ended in her most complete and resounding defeat ever. She never even saw Ruby _move._

Unfortunately, the former ninja now looked at Ruby with a new gleam in her eyes. One that implied a new level of loyalty that Ruby didn't know how to deal with. She was more like a lovesick puppy than a handmaid.

If Blake ever started acting like that when Ruby got back… yikes.

Of course, …that was assuming Ruby ever _did_ get back.

…

… … …

… … … … …

"Ginryu-san… have you done something to Aki-san?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Your Eminence…"

"Drop the honorifics when we're alone. I haven't seen Aki-san relaxing very much these last few months, and my other ladies tell me she is hanging around with that foreign boy you brought back with you."

"If you're worried that Master Oum might just take Aki-sama away from you…"

" _Master_ Oum?"

"He is a martial arts master from across the sea, that's all. I brought him here to help Aki-sama train…"

" _So it WAS you…!"_

"Please calm down, Shiro-san! I didn't do it on a whim!"

"…I'm listening…"

"Aki-sama seemed rather… down of late. I remembered how happy she looked when she slayed those monsters last year, so I decided…"

"…That she could find her happiness in _battle?_ Is that what you thought?"

"… … …She _did_ seem happy when she beat me."

"Hah! She beat _you,_ did she?"

"…I …don't remember much of it, to be honest."

"Hmm… I'll speak with her later. And as for _you…"_

"I stand by my decision, I have no regrets."

"… … …I'll deal with you later. You're dismissed."

…

… … …

… … … … …

As strange as it seemed, Ruby's workload did not decrease the day Master Oum left the palace (satisfied with her progress, one might note) – in fact, it only got worse.

She was promoted from student… to teacher.

Another oddly familiar face was introduced to Ruby the day after Master Oum left – the same flaming red hair and green eyes that Pyrrha Nikos was known for. Ginryu just called the woman 'Nikos' though. Apparently she was Ginryu's former commander of the military, now demoted after Ginryu swore to serve the Yukimura Dynasty.

Ruby's task was to train Nikos in how to wield a scythe in combat. If things worked out, Nikos could then train other soldiers in the same weapon style.

… … …Well, shit. This was quite a switch.

The training was a long process, but Nikos proved to be just as capable at learning as Pyrrha was. The only challenge was coming up with a new design for a scythe that could be mass-produced with this world's level of technology. In all, Nikos became fully trained with everything Ruby could instill into her after a mere month and a half. The rest was left up to her to figure out.

After it was over, Ruby just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week straight.

But _noooo…_ now she had to attend a _goddamn wedding?!_ She barely had time to catch her breath!

…

… … …

… … … … …

Every single noble in the entire country had made the trip to attend the wedding of the empress of the Yukimura Dynasty. The woman who pulled the land out of the embers of war.

Ruby needed to be _anywhere else._

As luck would have it, she managed to escape and procure a horse in the early morning hours. By the time the sun peeked over the horizon, she had found herself at a small lake near the base of a nearby mountain. Tying off the horse, Ruby strode to the edge of the water… and took a deep, desperate breath.

It was quiet here. Calm.

The girl nearly wept with relief.

Almost a full year had freaking _flown_ by without much fanfare. So much had happened that Ruby's head simply would not stop spinning, even now.

She sat on a large rock and stared out over the surface of the water. There was no wind, so it looked like a vast sheet of glass that perfectly reflected the image just above it. Gorgeous.

The only sound, other than the occasional nickering of her horse, was a gentle wind that sighed by every few minutes.

 _This_ was what she needed. A moment's rest. A chance to get her head back in order.

Ever since she started remembering who Aki really was, Ruby had woken up every morning with the same mantra on her lips – I am Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY, and I will remember.

And now, sitting in solitude for the first time in forever, she spoke the words again, "I am Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY, and I _will remember."_

"… _How do you feel about this world…?"_

Ruby blinked as the voice echoed out of the past, a voice not unlike her own. The voice of the ancient look-alike called Rain.

She smirked and quietly spoke her response aloud, "…Why are you asking?"

"… _The same reason any other human asks a question –  
I want to know the answer…"_

"So do I, my friend," Ruby muttered, "…so do I."

"… _You're the only_ you _here, you know…"_

Ruby didn't answer this time, mostly due to her throat locking up. A few tears leaked from her eyes before she could stop them. "…Thanks Rain," she choked out.

…

Ruby didn't get close enough to see the man Shiro had decided to marry, but from a distance he looked an awful lot like that Neptune guy. Oh well, good for him.

The courtyard was rather vast, and every square inch of it was filled with people wearing the gaudiest outfits Ruby had ever clapped eyes on. She couldn't say anything, though… her own clothes were even worse. She didn't dare look down at herself for fear of her own eyes bleeding.

As far as she could tell, the goings-on were supposed to be a wedding ceremony, but they were totally different that she expected. But then, lots of things here in _Nippon_ were different that she expected.

An arm suddenly embraced her from the side, pulling Ruby out of her thoughts. Ginryu was there, looking rather happy with everything. "Are you enjoying the event, Aki-sama?" she asked cheerily. Quietly, also.

Ruby shrugged, "I might if I didn't look like an abstract painting…"

"Well, that's the fashion of the court. Like it or not, that's your look here."

Ruby sighed and leaned her head back against Ginryu's shoulder, causing the older woman to flinch slightly. Her arm remained on Ruby's shoulder, but now just rubbed it lightly.

"Oh…" Ginryu suddenly said, pulling away from Ruby and reaching into her pouch. "Almost forgot… Master Oum couldn't make it in time, so he sent a present for you in his stead."

"For me?" Ruby's brow furrowed in confusion, "…Not Shiro? It's _her_ wedding, right?"

"Nope, it's for you," Ginryu finally found what she was digging for and pulled a small wrapped bundle from her pocket. It wasn't very large, but it was wrapped in fine paper. "I'm going back inside for a bit. Feel free to open it."

The blonde quickly made her way back into the main part of the palace, leaving Ruby alone with her package. And her thoughts. The silver-eyed girl sighed again, then unwrapped the bundle.

Inside was an item she would never have expected to see again, even in her wildest dreams.

It was a card with the image of a rose in full bloom, surrounded by a field of thorns at a distance. It was rendered in amazing detail.

At the bottom, in perfect English, was written _The Rose._

What… The… _Hell?!_

…

…

… … …!

Touching the card had an immediate effect. Ruby's vision went completely white as she felt the sensation of … _lifting_.

Her hearing began to muffle, but she clearly heard the sound of panicked cries, mixed with a few screams.

All around her, the light bent and stretched as she felt herself coming apart at the seams.

…

The world beneath her rapidly receded as she was pulled through a white infinity.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

… … …?

She opened her eyes, looking around the bedroom wearily. A beeping noise drew her attention to the nightstand. She reached over and hit the snooze button, turning off the alarm. The big red numbers displayed the time as 6:00 AM.

Time to get up, then.

Boy… what a dream _that_ was.

"I am Ruby Rose…" she muttered to herself, unsure of why she was even saying it, "…leader of team RWBY… and I will… _remember…?"_

"Remember what, Prim?" her roommate said from their shared bathroom.

Prim shook her head slowly, trying to clear it. "I think… it was a dream I had." She rubbed her eyes, unique in the whole academy with their silver color, and looked over at the girl brushing her teeth at the sink. "It felt so real…"

"I've had a few like that," the girl mumbled with a mouth full of foam, "I was _sure_ I was back on the surface two nights ago…"

Prim scoffed, "Like you would know what the surface is like. No one's been down there for a century, remember?"

Val finished up her ministrations, then proceeded to get dressed. "I _said_ it was dream, Prim. Come on, we don't wanna be late for training on our first day."

Primrose, Prim for short, stood up and got herself dressed without any fanfare. Val left on her own first. Prim barely had the wherewithal to even finish putting her uniform on.

 _Ruby Rose…?_ Was that supposed to be her?

And that language… was that Japanese? Like in those old cartoons?

Hard to remember, now… but _damn_ did it feel real.

The artificial gravity system was working like normal as Prim made her way towards the main control center of the Lunar Academy. She and nearly a dozen other new pilot trainees were soon to begin learning how to pilot their vehicles.

She glanced out the windows as she walked. Space waited beyond it. The stars glimmered like a billion lightning bugs in the vast blackness.

How long had it been since humanity had finally conquered the challenge of space travel? How long had it been… since they abandoned the planet they came from?

Just then, one of their vehicles floated by. It had a shape like a human, with a head, two arms and two legs. There were no guns, wings, or other fancy add-ons that were more common on army versions. Prim remembered that the pilot sat in the chest area, and the head unit was mainly a housing for cameras.

They called the things… _mobile armors,_ or something. Prim didn't care about nicknames.

Yet… looking at the machine floating by, Prim was taken by the urge to squeal like a fool.

Where the _heck_ did that come from?

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Unknown World,  
Some sort of underground bunker_

…

Thorn was a little conflicted as she watched the scene before her.

On one side of the room was the big-bad General, a woman who always looked to be in control of the situation, bound hand and foot within… rocks. Yes, rocks. Somehow, the kid in charge of this outfit had made the rock _flow out_ and engulf the taller woman's feet and one hand. The other arm was just a stump. Her top had been removed and her upper body was awash with welts and bruises from her recent lashing. The eyepatch remained undisturbed.

The kid in question sat on the other side of the room, holding the General's mechanical arm and playing with the fingers like it was a toy. She was also actively ignoring the state of the captive woman.

If Thorn hadn't seen the kid do that thing with the rocks, she wouldn't have believed it was possible. Not to mention the lashings – somehow the kid was using the _air itself_ to hit her.

Thorn's conflict was whether or not she should be _enjoying_ this show.

"Have you figured out why I'm punishing you yet?" the kid asked with a bemused tone.

The General, her breathing ragged, wheezed, "…No… not yet…"

The kid wiggled her fingers and summoned her little Grimm familiar – it looked like a cross between a squid and a television set – and it conjured up the image of a young girl with black hair and silver eyes.

"You know this child, yes?"

One tired silver eye examined the image, "…Yes, I remember her. She ended a war on the world I just left… but she acted as though she was not _from_ it…"

"And her weapon? Surely you did not think a device of that caliber was native to such a backward place…?"

"I don't…" but the General stopped talking as her mind caught up with the kid's words. "… _No…"_

"Yes…" The kid stood up and slowly approached her tallest ally. "You allowed the Anomaly to simply… _go free."_

An invisible whip struck the General across the back, causing her to let out a brief whimper.

"Against my _direct_ orders…"

Three more lashings occurred in a split second, forcing the woman to let out a sharp cry of pain.

Thorn swallowed hard. All these cries of pain were starting to make her… _excited._

The General took a few shaky breaths, then said in a stronger voice, "Please… continue my punishment."

The kid raised one eyebrow, her glowing red eyes locked onto the bound woman before her.

"Not noticing such an obvious detail _right in front of me…_ I deserve no less than a hundred lashings for my failure…"

"No."

Both Thorn and the General stared in disbelief as the kid made wiggles with her fingers and… somehow caused the rocks to let the woman go. She slumped to the ground, clutching the stump of her arm close to her side.

"I am not without mercy. You did not attempt to pass the blame onto anyone or anything else, but rather took ownership of your failure. I respect that."

She handed the mechanical limb back, and the older woman took it with reverence. Thorn could see a clear note of awe in that single silver eye.

"Continue your operations, General Vermillion. I will contact you with my next assignment when it is time. And take note… I will not allow another failure. _The Anomaly must die."_

The General stood to her feet and gave a hard salute (which must have hurt with those welts), then turned and left the room. Thorn watched her go, but not too closely. That woman was well-built, but a far cry from watching Yang walk away. No one had an ass like Yang…

"Walk with me," the kid suddenly said to Thorn before heading for the door. The girl in the black hood jumped to her feet and kept a steady distance. Neither one of them spoke for several feet as they strode through the empty hallway.

Finally, the kid spoke first, "What do you think of me?"

"Not much," came the instant reply.

This caused the child who was not a child to chuckle lightly. "And that is why I like you. Unlike the others, you don't consider me a distant authority figure to be feared and worshiped. It's… refreshing."

Thorn raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

They came to an intersection in the hallways and stopped. Both Thorn and the kid turned to look down the hallway to their left. Even though the lights were working just fine, the space in that direction was… dark.

The creature in the bone-white mask stood there, watching them.

Oddly, Thorn found her voice in that moment, "…What about _that_ one?"

Several seconds of silence stretched between them. The creature (Thorn had noticed a bulge in it's chest area, so she decided it must be a 'she') stared at them for another minute before turning and walking down the hall in the other direction.

"When I found that one…" the kid started saying in a quiet voice, "…I was visiting a world that was dead. Everyone there had been slaughtered."

"By her?"

"No… most of them had slain themselves…"

Thorn gulped. Simply being in the same room as that… _thing…_ certainly had an effect. It wasn't hard to imagine an entire world going mad with _her_ there..

"One dying man had written a message on a wall with his own blood before succumbing. It read:

' _Meaningless!  
Everything is meaningless! _

_The Shade is coming!  
Beware The Shade!'"_

Thorn blinked. The Shade…? Was that what she called herself?

As Thorn remembered that empty stare, the lifeless gaze behind that mask, she felt a deep chill.

The Shade… A good name for a monster.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _What About Roman and Neo…?_

…

"You know… after everything we've seen so far, it's nice to see something normal for a change," the ginger-haired man mused as he leaned back in the padded chair.

Neo nodded from the loveseat beside him. She snuggled into the pillows and took a deep breath, sighing airily.

The duo had appeared in what looked to be a perfectly normal living room. Normal television, normal furniture, just… normal. Roman, at the very least, was determined to enjoy it while it lasted.

Of course, if his luck held out, he was soon to find himself in the presence of That Damned Kid again. She always appeared close to wherever they were.

Still, no reason to stress now, right?

Suddenly he heard noises in the next room over. The sounds of a door opening, followed by the smell of a recently ended shower. Also a humming voice.

Ah… that would be her. Damn.

Without a word, Roman nodded to Neo and the pair stood up to go. Roman stopped and took another look around, however, and spotted something that looked valuable. Without thinking twice, he grabbed it and pocketed it. The thing looked vaguely like a scroll, so he figured why not…?

Neo rolled her eyes and smirked. Roman shrugged – he _was_ a thief, wasn't he? Might as well steal _something._

He grabbed her arm and she hit the buttons. A flash of light later and the pair was off again.

…

Less than a minute later, a young woman with reddish hair walked out of the bedroom with a towel wrapped around her middle and went to grab her…

Wait a minute…

"Barb? Did you take my phone?" She called out loud. A muffled voice answered through the walls.

" _BARB! Did you take my phone?!"_

Another muffled reply, followed by, "Oh yeah, very funny! Just because I got sent to some strange alternate world with lots of clones of myself, now you're blaming _everything_ on that!"

The girl crossed her arms with a huff, then muttered, "If that Ruvys chick _did_ have something to do with this, I am SO gonna kick her butt…"

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: And with that, I can safely say that Round 1 is over. If you're not dizzy after all that, then I'm not doing my job. :)**

 **Next up will be an intermission chapter of sorts, then into Round 2. A few of you have been waiting rather patiently for that, and your patience will be rewarded soon.**

 **Beware The Shade…**

 **...**

(Credits: Ruby 'RJ' Jones was created by The Layman and appears in _Distorted Mirror Images)_

 **=^w^=**


	29. Intermission 1-2

**Author's Note: Round 1 is complete – but now for a breather. In this chapter we'll get our heads turned back the right way 'round as our intrepid interdimensional travelers get ready to set out once again.**

 **(Temporary Note – In all honesty, I don't much like how the previous 3 chapters were paced. I think I buzzed through them too fast. Be on the lookout for updates to those chapters in particular – and if I update them, I'll let you know here.)**

* * *

…

… … …

… … … … …

The first thing Yang did when everyone came to their senses was to hand over Snow's lovely little ring with the blue stone. The look on that girl's face was worth all the trouble in the world, as far as the blonde was concerned.

Sapphire quickly exchanged a few words with Carmine, who then considered for about a minute before ordering both the old remote device and all the other items Yang had gathered into a massive DNA scanner. She didn't explain why right away, but it seemed important.

Unlike the device Carmine set up back on their home world, the larger transport device in her lab ended up needing almost double the amount of time to recalibrate. Yang, Blake and Snow had a full day before anyone could travel again.

Not that this was a bad thing. With Sapphire joining them, our heroes were able to take some much-needed time to rest.

…

"…Carmine, right? You seem angry. May I ask what the problem is? Specifically?"

" _Someone's been fucking around with my programs… when I figure out who it is… Imma Taser 'em right on the nipples…!"_

*gulp*

"Oh… Did you need something, Sapphire?"

*ahem* "Just checking on something… Didn't you say that my absence from my home world could cause …what was it… unstable conditions?"

"That _was_ the case, but I checked on that as soon as you showed up. Turns out Remnant-8843 is still perfectly stable and waiting for your arrival. Whatever Rain did to make it that way seems to be holding up, but we don't have _too_ much time to dawdle…"

"How much is 'not too much' …?"

"A few days at most. But when I send you home from _here_ , I won't miss. I can promise you that."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Please do."

"There was also the matter of that remote device we obtained…"

"I'm running to through my scanners now, and I also hooked it up to the main system. Wherever it sent Marigold, I _will_ find her. If the other items have any other DNA samples I can lock onto, that should speed up the process."

"For Weiss' sake, I hope you're right."

"She goes by the name 'Snow' now…"

"Oh yeah… Yang mentioned that. What actually happened to her there?"

"She hasn't explained her story to anyone yet. There was… a lot of emotional trauma when she first arrived. She also appeared to have lost portions of her memory."

"Because of her extended stay? Yang mentioned it was almost 10 years long."

"Partly. However, I believe it was mainly due to a side effect of remaining in a different world for a prolonged period of time. Her… 'natural energy' altered itself to match the frequency modulation of her new home, rather than what it once was."

"…What?"

"I've only observed the phenomenon in a select few subjects, but all of them suffered partial memory loss after their energy signature changed, which always happened after about a year's time. The younger subjects lost more, while the older ones lost less."

"Like a memory …'reset' …?"

"In a nutshell… yes."

"Would the lost memories come back if the subjects were sent back where they came from?"

"Absolutely not. I only tried that with two of them, but they both… … … _died in agony._ The body can only readjust itself once – it rejects any other attempts."

"…!"

"I didn't dare test the effect on any more subjects. Two lives on my hands are more than enough. That's why I refused to send Snow back to her family. It _would_ have killed her."

"It _might_ have killed her."

"Would you have taken that chance?"

"… … …No, I suppose not."

"…"

"So… even if we _do_ find Marigold, she might not remember her own name, would she? They said she was only about 5 when she vanished…"

"At an age like that, she would be lucky to remember how to even _breathe…_ but I'll still look. She _is_ out there, somewhere, and _I'll be damned before I give up now!"_

"…"

"I owe Weiss… Snow… at least that much."

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 29:** _  
_ **Intermission** _  
_ **[1-2]**

… … … … …

… … …

…

[ Yang ]

… … …

Unlike the others, Yang wasn't interested in resting. After she changed out of her normal outfit and into some workout clothes, the blonde wasted no time in locating and making use of Beacon's futuristic training facility.

So many toys to break… so little time.

She was busy dealing with a solid-light training dummy (that fought back rather fiercely) when the older version of Velvet Scarlatina walked in. Oh wait… make that Velvet _Rose,_ if she'd taken Carmine's last name when they got hitched.

"Working out some stress?" the woman asked in that odd accent of hers.

Yang let fly one last punch which caused the hologram to shatter, then looked over at her faunus audience and mused, "…You already know the answer to that, don't you?"

"Sometimes it helps to ask anyway."

"I suppose it does," she replied. "According to Carmine, the three of us'll be going on a lot more of those little other-world adventures while we're here. I'd hate to be caught unprepared for a real fight…"

Velvet offered the teenager a water bottle from a nearby cooler (wow, this place had it all) and said, "Wouldn't it be worse to be sore from working out too much?"

Yang tilted her head in confusion. "What is this… ' _working out too much?'_ Is that _possible?"_

"For _some_ of us mere mortals, yes."

"Sounds like a boring existence."

"Hmm…" Velvet muttered in agreement.

Both women sat on a bench in silence, one trying to cool down, the other waiting for an opportunity to speak. Yang may not have had the empathic abilities of her companion, but she could tell when something was on someone else's mind. Still, she figured it was best to wait.

"Did the… _older_ Yang talk to you?"

There it was. "Yeah. She gave me the cliff notes version of what happened to the team. Sorry to hear it."

"I assume she put all of the blame on herself?"

Yang blinked at Velvet before responding, "Uh… yeah. Did something else happen?"

Velvet sighed before saying, "In truth… _everyone_ exchanged harsh words that day, not just her. She just gave the worst of it – all four of them had already reached the breaking point before then, but… our announcement just tipped the balance."

Yang set her water down, but said nothing. She didn't dare interrupt.

"There was a lot of anger that day… a lot of hurt feelings… jealously… sadness… more raw emotion than I'd ever felt in one place before. Yang was angry that Ruby had abandoned her, Weiss was upset that Yang had become a bigot without anyone noticing, and Blake decided that Weiss had somehow returned to being an anti-faunus _racist…"_

"Okay whoa, whoa… just a sec…" Yang managed to pause the woman's story for a moment to digest the barrage of information. For the other two to make such _radical_ assumptions… just what the flaming crap did that other Yang _say?!_

"Sorry… just thinking about it still leaves even _me_ dizzy," Velvet confessed. "It's difficult for me to separate the words from the emotions in my memory. Everything just runs together."

"It's probably best that I _don't_ know exactly what was said. I… … … I think I get the gist of it, though. Thanks," the blonde sighed.

"The …older Yang still feels strong guilt, even after all this time. I just wanted to clear the air between the two of you… if it ever came up again."

Yang nodded, then gave a weary smile and said, "Thank you. Seriously."

"In case you were considering giving me a hug," the rabbit faunus said as she scooted away just a bit, "…the showers are that way."

"…Wimp…"

"…Stinker…"

…

… … …

… … … … …

[ Snow ]

… … …

Carmine and Sapphire needed some time to talk in private, and the rest of Yang's memorabilia needed to be properly scanned before she could give any of it to Snow. The former Schnee _could_ have stayed in the lab, but in truth there was something she needed more than anything Carmine's sci-fi campus could offer.

Coffee. From a real coffee shop.

Sam was never a coffee drinker before Snow arrived in his life, but once she convinced him to find some and try it, he became a believer. The two of them shared many a peaceful morning over a steaming cup of the good stuff, especially in their first year together. Marigold tried it once, but it was too bitter for her tastes. Snow still giggled whenever she remembered the poor girl's face twisting in disgust.

She stared at her ring again, something she'd done several dozen times since getting it back, simply staring and letting the memories wash over her. As the teenager sat by the window of the coffee shop, watching the city move on just outside, she choked back a lone tear. The pain of missing her family was still sharp, but it was growing slightly more dull as time passed.

But she didn't want it to ever _fully_ go away. It helped her remember them.

Snow's old white-themed outfit was all she had in this world that still fit, so she wore it while out like this – but she refused to put her hair up in the side ponytail she was once known for. Instead, she let all of her snowy white hair simply hang loose. It helped her feel like she did before… regressing in age.

That detail, above everything else, still bugged her.

Snow took a sip from her mug, relishing the smell and flavor of the beans. It was nothing like the real stuff Sam had shipped in from the distant jungles of the south, but it worked. And she never used that cream or sugar nonsense, either – why bother going after the best beans in the world if you just smother the flavor with sweet crap?

Ah, Sam… you would have enjoyed this batch.

Snow set her mug down and lightly ran her fingers over the scar on her face. It had faded with age back home, but now it felt just as it once did – too fresh. The memory of obtaining it was one of the few that never faded once, no matter how long she stayed with Sam.

Team RWBY was another. Those three girls had stayed close to her heart.

Oddly, the presence of Carmine and then Sapphire only bothered her a little. She didn't remember them, but she recognized that they were virtually identical to Ruby Rose, her old partner. That was enough to earn Snow's trust.

The woman called Sapphire, though… there was something else that was familiar about her. Something more personal. The woman reminded Snow of herself more than Ruby.

No… a relation? Like a sister? Did she even _have_ a sister?

Snow managed to keep her personalized scroll with her when she arrived, but hadn't had much chance to play around with it. She pulled it out now and began to dig around. After almost an hour (long after her coffee had vanished), she found her personal files.

Weiss Schnee. Her old name. Father: Jacques Schnee. Mother: Willow Schnee. Siblings: Winter Schnee and Whitely Schnee.

The link for Winter brought up an image that looked almost exactly like Sapphire, but with Snow's white hair and ice-blue eyes. She had a face that spoke of strength, both in body and mind.

Her sister… why did Snow forget about _her_ … but still remember Ruby and the others?

Quite discomforting. What else had slipped away with the years?

As the sun began to dip below the edge of the buildings, Snow pocketed her scroll and made her way back. She had no idea if the Beacon they once belonged to had these… what were they called? Trams? But it didn't matter. She'd been alone long enough – it was time to get back to the others.

Snow glanced at her ring one more time, letting Sam and Marigold's faces float before her mind's eye again. She knew in her heart that she would never stop missing them. Yang had mentioned that she and Sapphire had a lot to tell her regarding those two, but she might not like what they had to say…

That was probably true… but Snow found herself with far more patience than she would have expected. They knew the truth, so she was content to wait for them to be ready to tell it. Light knows they've waited long enough for her to tell them her own story.

…

… … …

… … … … …

[ Blake ]

… … …

The closet in Rain's room was more packed than Carmine had said. Blake sneezed a bit as more dust jumped into her nose. Most of this stuff hadn't even been moved for years at least.

Still, she found another part from the list. She pulled it out and set it in the pile with the other dozen or so things the Mad Scientist had sent her down here for. She then checked off another item of the list on her scroll before heading back in.

It was another errand. One of way too many to come.

Better than sewage work, though.

Just before she ducked her head back into the mess, a flash of light pulled Blake's attention back to the empty space of the room. At the center of that light stood a girl that only looked young at first glance. Her faded red hood and cloak was just as tattered as the first day Blake had seen it.

Rain had returned. But she wore a look of surprise… which was quite uncommon. "Blake? What are you doing here? …Actually, what day is it?"

The cat faunus _almost_ replied, but stopped herself. Something was …off about this girl.

"No, wait… I think it's… _dammit! I'm too early!_ I overshot… but wait, I can still…" The ancient Ruby look-alike's eyes were darting around the room and she was muttering to herself like she was having a caffeine buzz or something.

In short, Rain was _not_ acting like herself.

All at once, the ancient variant of Ruby looked over at Blake and froze as she thought about something. She then raised her left hand and displayed her palm – four lines had been scribbled onto it in blue ink. "How many lines did I have the last time you saw me?"

"Umm… zero? I didn't know you doodled on yourself…"

" _SHIT!_ I am WAY off…" she cursed and kicked a nearby box, which bounded off the far wall with a dull thud.

Blake took a cautious step back. "What… What's going on? Are you really Rain?"

"Can't say too much or I'll cause a paradox…" the shorter girl murmured as her silver eyes darted all around the room. Her mind was clearly running at a million miles an hour. "Long story short, I'm a … _future_ version of Rain."

"Future…?"

"All I can say is that I just learned something that _totally fucked my world up,_ okay? That's why I overshot and came too far back. So listen to me VERY CAREFULLY!" The girl suddenly darted forward, her normally emotionless eyes filled with a wildfire.

Blake gulped, but nodded.

"You CANNOT let me… Rain… know that this meeting happened. You can't even IMPLY that you met a future version of me. The next time you see me, act like nothing happened between then and the moment I vanished with Neo, _do you hear me?!"_

Blake's knees were shaking slightly as she nodded again, afraid that her voice would crack if she tried to speak.

"No… … … Wait a minute… … … Aha! So _that's_ why you had this. Here, take it…" the girl slapped a small device into Blake's palm. "There will come a time, soon, when you need to … _subdue_ someone without killing them. Someone important to you. Use this on them… but don't let anyone know you have it. Keep it well-hidden."

Blake looked down and discovered a small piece of metal with a tiny spike in the center on one side and a sticky surface on the other.

"To use it, just stick the flat side to your palm and press the pointed side against your attacker. Any open patch of skin will do. It works like a Taser, but stronger – I made it to affect the entire nervous system at once. Also, it's only good for one use, so don't use it too early."

Blake _really_ wanted to ask about the need for the thing, but didn't want to risk a …what did she call it? A paradox?

"I need to go," Rain muttered again as she scribbled a fifth line on her palm, crossing over the other four. "Stay strong, Blake. And remember… this meeting _didn't_ happen."

Blake nodded emphatically right before the strange future Rain vanished once again. The cat faunus was left alone in the room with a pile of parts on one side and a mini-Taser in her hand… as well as a shitload of confusion in her brain.

As cold and emotionless as Rain normally presented herself to be… what the _hell_ could have shaken her resolve that badly?

And did Blake really want to know?

…

… … …

… … … … …

[ Main Lab ]

… … …

Carmine sat at her console once again as Yang, Blake, Snow and Sapphire stood just behind her. The Mad Scientist was still making adjustments to the machine's controls, but spared the group enough attention to talk to them.

"First of all, let me just apologize right now for keeping the stuff Yang brought with her in the scanning room all night…"

The former Schnee shook her head politely and said, "It's alright. Yang told me enough to tide me over. And I got my ring – that was the main thing I wanted, above all else." She gestured with her left hand, causing the blue stone to glitter in the light. "I'm willing to wait for the rest."

"Good to know," Carmine mumbled, then typed a few more things into the system. She then stood to her feet and gave the group her full attention as her expression turned deadly serious.

"Uh-oh… the 'business' face…" Yang mumbled.

"I know I mentioned putting you guys to work, but after running the results of my scans again, I found something interesting…"

She quickly brought up a big chart showing all of the various alternate Remnants she had found, along with various progress bars showing how far each of them had been scanned. Everyone could see the big, bright red exclamation marks that adorned almost two dozen of the listings.

"I found lingering 1802 energy in several worlds. Places I haven't sent any of you guys into yet. Places I haven't fully scanned. I believe they might indicate the presence of your young leader…"

"Ruby? You found her?" Yang demanded quickly.

"No… but I have a trail of sorts. Along with your other work, I'm sending you guys to each of these worlds to find the source of this unique energy signature. It _might_ be Ruby… but it also might not be." Carmine then nodded to Snow and added, "If you wish to join those guys today, I'll allow it. I think you've recovered enough for the trip."

"As much fun as that sounds," the former Schnee mused, "I think I'll wait until the next ship leaves port."

Carmine nodded, "Understood."

"Yeah… she'd rather stay and play with _me!"_

The new voice came from right behind the gathered group, causing all four to jump clear in an instant. Yang and Blake had their weapons drawn in a heartbeat, and Sapphire was standing in a defensive position in front of Snow. Carmine had her hands hovering close to the console – one input from her could activate the room's security system.

Nobody fired a shot, however. They were too in shock at what stood before them. Or more specifically, _who._

"Oh dear, oh dear… Did I startle you all? Goodness me…"

Of course they recognized the dark red hair and silver eyes… but that was about it. This woman had the largest pair of tits any of them had ever seen. No joke. She wore a long dress of black and red that dragged on the floor, but it's strength was clearly in the bust area. When she laughed, they all heard the sound of the stitching pulling apart bit by bit.

She also had a disturbing gleam in her eyes.

"And who, may I ask, are you supposed to be?" Carmine forced a good-natured smile over her agitation.

"Me?" The woman put one hand over her mammoth chest and laughed again. "Why… my name happens to be Ruby L. Rose. A pleasure to meet you all, at long last!"

As the woman spoke the name, several letters appeared in mid-air and floated in place that spelled out the name she had just said – 'Ruby L. Rose.' They looked to be made of solid light, but were not holograms.

"What's the L stand for?" Carmine pondered aloud.

Miss Ruby L. Rose grinned a grin that was about 20% too wide as she replied, "Whatever you want, honey… Lynn… Lunch… Lesbian… Lottery ticket…"

"Are you nuts or something?" Yang asked all of a sudden.

"Salted or unsalted?" came the instant, very serious reply.

"Honey-roasted, I'd say…" Blake added.

"Hah! I'll remember that one!" the woman chuckled. "I mainly came to see what you lot are supposed to be, and I'm not impressed, really. That chair would be more of a threat to the Goddess…"

All five other occupants of the room glanced at each other. _Goddess?_

"I also came to eat all of your donuts."

"We don't _have_ any donuts in here…" Carmine replied quickly.

"You're welcome," she responded without a pause.

The letters that once spelled out 'Ruby L. Rose' had started drifting and rotating in the air, rearranging themselves without anyone watching them. Carmine glanced at them, but quickly returned her gaze to the woman with boobs that had their own zip code.

At that moment, a flash of light heralded the arrival of yet another girl who was not Ruby – but this one was a _far_ more welcome sight.

"I think…" Rain said in her usual monotone, "…that you need to leave. Right now."

Nobody noticed that Blake tried to get a look at Rain's left hand.

"Leave? But I just got here! Is this any way to treat a _guest?"_

Rain crossed her arms. "An unwelcome guest, yes."

"You are such a _poopy-pants,_ you know that?"

"I've been called worse…"

"I can imagine," the mega-boobed woman sauntered closer, seemingly oblivious to the danger that Rain posed. "Someone like you, _who doesn't even have her own soul?"_

Rain grew tense, but didn't flinch. She remained silent. Everyone else in the room stared in stunned silence.

"Oh I know about you… I see many things, you know. I can see magic in the air, porn magazines hidden between mattresses, and even the human soul. And you… I've seen into your very core…" she poked Rain with one finger, smirking much too wide for a normal person. "…And do you know what I saw?"

" _DO YOU EVER SHUT UP?"_ Yang shouted as she let loose a single shot with her gauntlets. The woman turned to look at the incoming bullet…

And caught it in her _mouth_.

Then chewed it up and swallowed it. "Mmm… tastes like cinnamon!"

Yang's eyes very nearly popped out of her head.

"Where was I? Oh yes…" the woman turned her attention back to the seemingly frozen Rain before speaking again. The floating letters from earlier were now circling her waist.

"Believe it or not, small one … _you actually have FOUR souls…_ but not one of them are truly yours."

This time Rain _did_ flinch. The tension in the room had grown to levels that left it hard to even breathe. At least for most of the humans.

Did that woman just say… Rain had _four souls?_

The top-heavy stranger didn't seem to be affected by the tension of the room at all as she mused "Well my darlings, I must be off. My Goddess calls for me. Do be careful playing around in Her universe… you might stub your toe on something nasty."

The letters finally stopped rotating in front of her, but they were in another order entirely. They now spelled out a new word…

"As I said, my name is Ruby L. Rose… but you lot may call me _Soulberry."_

With that, she disappeared in a burst of colored confetti, complete with a toy trumpet blare in the background.

Nobody moved for several seconds. No one could quite believe what they had just seen. Or heard. The only sound was the hum of the air conditioning. Carmine was the first to move, pulling a fresh cigarette from her pack and lighting it with shaky fingers. "Did that really just happen?" she asked no one in particular.

"What looney bin did _she_ crawl out of…?" Blake wondered aloud.

"Wherever it was…" Yang added, "They didn't need a moon to supply the extra gravitational pull… _god damn!"_

Snow actually chuckled at the mental imagery, then added, "Those things were rather … _large,_ weren't they?"

Yang wasn't done. "If she had a bra, the size tag would just say _'Nope!'_ When she bends over, dogs probably start howling!"

Snow was starting to laugh harder and harder as the jokes continued. Sapphire, Blake and Carmine stared in wonder at the sight – Yang didn't seem to notice.

"She's her own waterbed! She's a self-deploying airbag! She's her own floatation device! She'll never drown in a pool! If she laid on her back, they'd fall into her face and suffocate her! She… um, what's wrong with _her?"_

Yang finally stopped joking when she found Snow doubled over in laughter, tears streaming down her face. The poor girl could barely catch her breath.

Somehow, this was more amazing of a sight than Ruby Rose with omega-level tits.

…

About 15 minutes later, Snow had calmed down and everyone had recovered from their close encounter of the booby kind. Mostly.

"I'd always suspected those four did _something_ strange to me…" Rain wondered aloud as she paced the room, ignoring the stares this was attracting. "…Now it makes sense. Four souls… it was them. It _had_ to be them. The Four Maidens…"

Blake looked like she wanted to say something, but kept silent. She also looked more worried than the others for some odd reason.

"Rain," Carmine started saying, "…Are you gonna be…"

"I need to leave again," the shorter girl interrupted. "The things she said… there's something else going on around here. Someone moving behind the scenes. This 'Goddess…' I need to find out who that is."

Rain moved over to the desk and grabbed a blue pen, muttering, "Neo snatched my transport device, but I can still travel on my own… it's just less accurate. Using this world as a base has helped before, but I lose track too easily. So…"

She scribbled a single blue line into her left palm. "Each time I stop here, I'll draw a line."

Blake muttered something like, _"No… too early… something else has to happen…"_ as her hand moved towards her pocket, but pulled it away. Yang glanced at her, but stayed quiet.

"Carmine, I assume you have them covering for me? My work load…"

"Yeah," she answered dismissively, "You're good. Go on, get out of here."

Rain nodded, then closed her eyes and focused. A small flash of light later, and she was gone once again.

Neither the teenagers nor Sapphire seemed able to process everything that had just happened. First a stranger simply _appears_ behind them, saying what could only be taken as a warning – then she says something extraordinary about Rain – and now Rain herself simply ran off? Why did it seem like reality itself was starting to come unraveled?

"Well…" the Mad Scientist said suddenly, "…shall we get on with this?"

As before, Yang took platform 1 and Blake took platform 2. Sapphire stood next to Snow as they watched their friends prepare to take the plunge into the multiverse once again. Carmine handed another one of her devices to Yang before the blonde took her position.

"The same rules apply as before: no more than a year to get done with your mission, or there will be consequences. No matter how long you're gone, you'll appear back here five minutes later. Yang, this time you have the 'work' job – the world you're going to doesn't have a scanner yet. Follow the directions on your scroll to install that one. It's a simple job, but easily the most important – Rain always did these first."

The blonde started protesting, but a Look from Carmine shut her up.

"Blake, I'm sending you to one of the worlds with a trace of 1802 energy. Find it, confirm what it is, and deal with it accordingly. _If_ it's Ruby herself, then obviously bring her back with you."

Yang reached over and took Blake's hand in a firm handshake, then said, "Good luck… partner."

"You, too."

"Oh, and…" Yang emphasized her own chest as she added, "Watch out for Miss Looney, the Goodyear blimps." This prompted a sigh from Blake and a bright laugh from Snow.

With the press of a button, their vision was filled with a bluish-green light once again…

\\_…_/

\\_/

Yang sighed. She really wanted to be the one to find Ruby first. But in this case, she would trust her partner to handle it.

Assuming Ruby was there at all. It was a possibility she would not ignore.

First thing's first, though… time to look… around…?

… … …Oh, shit.

All around Yang stood tall buildings, vast storefronts, and expansive roads and parkways… … … all in _ruins._ Vegetation had grown up into the cracks and crevices left by age or natural disaster. Everything she could see raised warning flags in Yang's brain that she was in a post-apocalyptic world of some sort.

That meant one of several options awaited her. And none of them were promising.

" _FREEZE! Don't move a fucking muscle!"_

The voice was familiar, but the tone was loaded with pure killing intent. Yang quickly raised both hands in a show of surrender, then started to turn around slowly.

" _I SAID DON'T FUCKING MOVE! !"_ The angry voice from behind her was accentuated by a bullet hitting the concrete wall just past Yang. She stopped turning, wondering if she was about to be robbed by a bandit of some kind. Places like these usually had at least a few…

Footsteps approached warily as Yang's attacker moved to the side, letting the blonde catch a glimpse from the side of her vision.

It was a grown-up Ruby. Of course.

But she was holding a perfectly normal hunting rifle, not a sniper-scythe.

"Wait… is that you, Xiao Long? How did you get here? And your skin… are you cured?"

"I, uh…" Yang started uncertainly, "…Can I put my hands down first?"

"I guess." The older version of Ruby wore clothes that looked much more… pedestrian than what she normally wore. A khaki shirt, blue jeans and hiking boots, as well as a full-looking backpack completed the post-apocalyptic survivor look to a tee. "Just know that if you make any sudden moves towards me, I _will_ shoot you."

"What exactly do you think I'm gonna do?"

The grown Ruby gave Yang a long, hard stare before nodding to herself and saying, "…I expected you to try and bite me. That's how they spread the disease – they infect living humans through bites."

Yang sighed deeply, letting her head hang down limp. "Goddammit…" she muttered angrily. "Zombies. It just _had_ to be zombies, didn't it?"

\\_…_/

\\_/

…

…

…?

Blake's vision slowly faded out of black… and she found herself staring right into the glare of a light bulb. Her hearing was muffled, but it was slowly recovering… and all she could make out was angry voices, angry at her… for something…

What… the hell happened?

She vaguely recalled seeing a dark patch of woods right after she arrived, but then… a sudden pain, like getting hit in the back of the head. After that came blackness.

Had she been captured? Less than five minutes after _getting here?_

Damn… she was losing her edge.

One blurry man-shape came forward and punched her across the face, waking her up just a bit more and nearly knocking her to the floor – but she was stopped by the ropes that tied her to her chair. Not a good sign.

On the other hand, nothing was stopping her from using her semblance to escape… but she hadn't fully recovered from the first blow… so they would probably catch her again with little problem…

But who… the hell… _were_ they?

Suddenly, a red blur. A familiar voice cutting through the mud in her ears.

Now _this_ was too good to be true. Had she really found the very person she was looking for on the first shot? Could she believe her luck was that good?

Blake couldn't make out anything they were saying, but it was clear the girl in red was trying to calm the man down. The faunus could finally see clear enough to make out the unmistakable silhouette of her team leader, that same red cloak with the hood raised.

It was her. Ruby.

All of a sudden, Blake's ribbon was removed. She had a moment of pure panic as Ruby forced the angry man's hand onto her head, which led to the inevitable tugging of her faunus parts. Blake's cry of pain was still muddy in her own ears.

The effect, however, was instant. All sense of anger in the man was gone like a puff of smoke in a strong wind. His fingers, while rough and callused, became gentle. He brushed the fur carefully, making sure he was actually feeling what he thought he was feeling.

The man and everyone else in the room backed off as Ruby worked to untie Blake. She could finally make out words as Ruby said, very happily, "Oh B-B-Blake! You have no idea how happy I am t-t-to see you…!"

Ruby stuttering? That was new. "Good to see you too, Ruby…" she said tiredly. "But was the ear thing necessary?"

"I learned it from you, remember?"

Blake's brow furrowed as the first traces of doubt entered her mind. "Learned… what now?"

"D-d-did you forget about it? You showed me that t-t-trick when I first arrived. It helps c-c-calm other faunus down, remember?"

Blake's confusion only grew stronger as she studied the hooded face before her. It certainly _looked_ like Ruby, but if she'd learned anything from current events, that didn't mean much.

Sensing Blake's distress, Ruby pouted a little and lowered her hood. "It's me… Rosey."

She had two floppy dog ears on her head.

Faunus ears.

Blackness welcomed her back once again as Blake passed out, losing feeling moments before hitting the floor face-first.

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **A/N: Tune in next time as we begin Round 2!**

 **For those wondering, I'm keeping the chapters in each round going in the same order – Yang first, then Blake, then Weiss (when applicable), and Ruby last. It just makes it easier to keep everything straight in my head. In short, it's the reverse of R-W-B-Y.**

 **And I** _ **know**_ **I keep delaying having Weiss/Snow actually tell her story, but I promise I'll get to it. Soon. But it's not like I'm _not_ leaving little bits and pieces for you to put together on your own, right? In my opinion, stories you deduce on your own tend to stick in your mind more strongly than normal.**

…

 _(Credits: Rosey the faunus Ruby created by The Layman and used with permission.)_

 **=^w^=**


	30. The Purifier

**Quick Note: This chapter will get rather dark towards the end. Reader discretion is advised.**

* * *

_/_/_/

 _Subject: 9559-Yang_

 _Target: Remnant-2319 (Zombie World)_

 _Details: Global pandemic responsible for wiping out 95% of the world's population. Small bands of survivors detected. Pandemic causes zombie-like symptoms in those infected._

 _Mission: Install FK-76 model scanning device at designated location._

_/_/_/

…

… … …

… … … … …

It was a quiet night. The pale moonlight bathed the broken roads and buildings in a faint blue glow.

As long as they didn't make any loud noises, it would stay that way – noises would attract _them._

"So what you're saying is…" the older woman said as they looked out over the dead city, "…You're actually from a different world? One where _this…_ didn't happen?" She gestured towards the ruins as she finished.

Yang nodded, "Exactly. In fact, outside of horror novels, I never thought something like this _could_ happen. It was certainly never a risk where I came from."

"I wish I could go back with you, just to see it at least. Anything has to be better than this hell."

Yang regarded the tall woman sitting next to her, a hardened version of her own little sister, and replied, "As much as I'd like to, Carmine… she's kinda like my boss… would _kill_ me if I did. I've already screwed around with things too much."

"Gotta keep the natural order, eh?"

"Something like that…"

Both women looked out over the dead city again and gave a sigh – one of sheer exhaustion. The older Ruby, who preferred simply being called Rue, rubbed Yang's back comfortingly. "Don't sweat it, Xiao Long. I suspect I would have a hard time getting used to it if I did go with you. The whole _not-fighting-for-my-life-every-day_ thing, I mean."

Just at the edge of Yang's vision, she spotted a figure on a distant rooftop moving around. It didn't walk like a normal person, either. It just kind of …stumbled about.

A chill swept down the blonde's back.

Whoever that was down there… it wasn't alive, but it moved anyway.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 30:** _  
_ **The Purifier**

… … … … …

… … …

…

Rue's home, a literal hole in the ground, was rather comfortable. She had spent quite a lot of time making it easily defensible in case it was ever found by _them._ It had everything she would ever need – food storage, cooking equipment, a bit of plumbing for water and waste, a half-decent bed, and even a radio. At least, Yang assumed it was a radio. She had never been good at identifying technical crap. Rue even showed her the air-regulation system to keep the fresh air flowing from the surface.

The only thing lacking was lights. It was quite dim down here.

"I don't know all the details… no one does that I've ever met… but it all started about 8 years ago. I think." Rue handed Yang one of her small bottles of water as they settled in for the night. "The news people went crazy first. All 'pandemic' this and 'end of the world' that. In short, it was the zombie apocalypse."

Yang stayed silent as Rue made herself comfortable. She tried not to stare, either – Rue had apparent lived alone long enough that she had no issue simply… stripping. With no regards for someone else in the room. Even in the dim light, Yang saw more than she wanted to.

"The only reason I stayed clear of the initial outbreak was because I happened to be on a plane at the time. Me and the other passengers of that flight found ourselves in hell when we touched down. Forgot to grab my checked luggage, too…"

By this point, Rue had taken a seat on the bed wearing little more than her panties. She pulled a first aid kit from beside the mattress and set about checking on a few bandages that Yang missed at first – one just under her ribs, and one on her shoulder. They almost looked like bullet wounds.

"Even with dead bodies standing up again to start biting people, the survivors seemed dead-set on killing _themselves_ off. I'd never seen so many people just… lose their minds and start fights left and right. If the zombies weren't enough proof that this world is hell, that right there sealed the deal."

All at once, Rue noticed that Yang hadn't moved for almost 15 minutes. The blonde was leaning against an empty section of wall, trying to listen and _not_ stare at the same time. And that was harder than it seemed – Rue had been through a lot, but still looked rather… attractive. For a woman.

"You just gonna stand there all night?"

The question was enough to jerk Yang out of her daydream, "I, uh… … … do you have another bed? Somewhere else I can sleep?"

"Nope," Rue replied with a pop. "No extra sleeping space, and despite my best attempts, I do get the occasional mouse in here. I doubt you'd wanna risk the floor."

Lavender eyes darted around the room, looking in each dark corner for movement.

"In other words… you're sharing the bed with me tonight. Now come on, I wanna get some sleep before we head out tomorrow. You have a job to do, yes?" Rue settled into the thin covers, moving herself to one side of the bed (which, now that Yang looked at it, was only a twin-size mattress).

Yang swallowed hard. This was going to be tight.

After finding a place to stow her larger belongings, Yang soon found herself getting quite cozy with a woman who seemed totally alright with it. Never before had she been… what was the term? Spooned? It wasn't too bad, really. Maybe she could convince Blake to try it with her when she got back…?

Eh, probably not. Yang would likely be rejected. Blake had other people on her mind, after all. Other redheads.

"Mmm… I've missed this…" Rue mumbled sleepily from behind her. "…And I've… … … missed _you…_ … … Xiao Long… … … zzz… zzz…"

Uhh… okay? That got weird.

Sleep came very slowly. The blonde found herself thinking about quite a few things, all of which kept her from falling into that deep slumber she needed. It didn't help that she had left Carmine's world in the morning and found herself here in the late afternoon – it wasn't time to sleep yet, as far as she was concerned. Maybe she actually should have just stood up all night…

And then there was Rue. The woman who resembled Ruby was starting to get _really_ comfortable. Yang didn't want to shift too far, since the bed was far too small for it. The floor _was_ only a few inches away.

Yang could feel Rue's face going deeper into her hair, nuzzling her scalp and giving her the tingles. Rue's free hand was also beginning to drift – it was the closest Yang had ever come to being molested in her sleep. Still, she remained unmoving.

What happened next was… let's just use the word 'strange.' Yang could not have said whether or not it was a dream, but it was fuzzy enough by morning that she could dismiss it as such.

As her body began going numb from sleep, Yang just noticed one of her hands being taken and drawn back towards Rue. She registered the sensation of her hand being placed against warm flesh that was not her own, along with damp fabric… but that was it. Nothing else between that moment and waking up the next morning with Rue already up and dressed. There was also a strange smell coming from the sheets.

Did that really happen…? Did Rue really…

…Nah, couldn't be.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Rue didn't say it, but sleeping next to Xiao Long was the first time in the last 5 years she'd slept for longer than 2 hours at a stretch. In fact, she lasted almost 6 hours, a personal record.

Of course, using the girl's hand to help her … _satisfy_ herself was a major contributing factor in that. Rue had started to wonder how long it would take the blonde to finally fall asleep.

Neither woman spoke to each other as Rue prepared a simple breakfast for them, then set about to gather some gear for the journey. They'd already looked up the location given by Xiao Long's fancy phone-device, so she knew where they were headed… but not how many obstacles stood between them.

Deep down, the woman found herself plotting to take the long way around. To draw out their time together.

Rue really had missed her time with Xiao Long. A lot. The old spark hadn't gone out completely.

As they packed everything they needed, Rue found herself staring at Xiao Long more and more. Thankfully the girl didn't notice. She was certainly younger than the _real_ Xiao Long would have been, had she lived this long…

Rue bit the inside of her cheek to stop that line of thought.

This girl, Yang, was _not_ Rue's old girlfriend. That was one zombie that the redhead simply _would not_ shoot, no matter what. After hearing Yang's story, Rue finally understood that Yang and Xiao Long were two separate people… but so what? Her feelings were clear on the matter…

Rue didn't want Yang to leave.

…

… … …

… … … … …

They covered a lot of ground their first day, but didn't leave the city itself. Rue said it was because she needed to find other supplies so they could safely camp outside during the hike. Yang wasn't going to complain, either – the broken roads made for hard walking.

The blonde found herself thinking of recent events during the silence (Rue insisted that they should only speak when necessary while outside). It was obvious that asking about the origin of the disease would be pointless, but… she still wondered.

That Ruby look-alike with the epic breasts… could _she_ have had something to do with it?

Or maybe that 'Goddess' she mentioned was responsible. There was no telling what could happen around someone who claimed divinity.

…Or maybe she was just overthinking it. This world seemed to function under different rules that she knew, so it was anybody's guess.

"Wait…"

Yang almost bumped into Rue's back as the woman stopped walking, now just peeking around the side of a large vehicle. They were on a wide highway of some sort, full of abandoned cars.

Just past the truck stood three of the zombies. They looked normal at first glance, but their skin was an ashy gray color. Their eyes were also gone, just empty sockets in their place.

"They actually _eat_ their own eyes. I've seen them do it. Nasty," Rue commented quietly. "That's the first thing everyone does once they turn – they rip out their own eyeballs and eat them."

Yang fought the urge to vomit right then and there.

While the blonde would gladly have gone in swinging, Rue drove home the point that where there was one or two, there were always a dozen more hiding nearby. Starting a fight now would overwhelm them in minutes. Instead the older woman led them off the road and into the bush nearby, quietly sneaking around the side of the creatures.

Yang stepped on a branch once, but luckily the snap wasn't loud enough to draw any attention. They moved on without incident.

That night found the pair huddled inside a small tent Rue had taken from a wrecked camping supply store, once again sharing a sleeping space meant for one. Sleep came much more easily for Yang this time, but she noticed that same smell again when she woke up.

Seriously, what the hell was Rue doing?

…

… … …

… … … … …

The first time Ruby met the woman called Xiao Long was almost a decade ago, a few years before the zombies came.

She'd been attending a junior college up to that point, and had just recently started classes at a major university in a different state. Xiao Long had also transferred in, only she hailed from a different part of the world. Despite looking mostly American, she was actually mixed blood – her mother was Chinese, her father from California. All Ruby could see was that she was absolutely _gorgeous._

They ended up as roommates for their first year of college. Long story short, one of the two beds in the room was never slept in. Not to mention that their pajamas were rarely seen in the same place twice.

Xiao Long was the first one to call her 'Rue.' The name stuck ever since.

As they travelled, Rue and the teenager who looked just like Xiao Long rarely spoke. The older woman was vividly remembering her time with the foreigner, but she also noted that Yang's face was filled with thoughts – she was clearly troubled by some issue of her own.

They only used the tent one more night before arriving at the next town. Rue held back from 'using' Yang's hand this time – the girl was starting to suspect something. And besides, just a hand was no longer as effective as before.

If something didn't happen soon, Rue would probably do something she would come to regret. Something Yang would have a very hard time forgiving her for.

Now it was a race against time – would they reach the target site for her scanner first… or would Rue no longer be able to hold herself back?

…

… … …

… … … … …

According to her scroll, the area they had to plant Carmine's scanner was somewhere in the middle of the next town they had come upon. Unfortunately, the town in question was fully barricaded for almost a mile in every direction. There was no easy way through.

Rue was annoyed, but Yang could see that there was something else on her mind. She was distracted, restless. And she kept casting lingering glances at the teenager.

Yang was starting to feel a tad… unsafe.

Still, she wanted to trust Rue. This was still Ruby, after all. How bad could things be, right? Just because the woman survived a zombie apocalypse didn't mean she'd gone evil or something.

They spent several hours hiking the perimeter of the town, looking for gaps in the barricade of wrecked cars and rubble to pass through. By the time they found one, it was already dark.

A tiny flame was the only light Rue allowed in their makeshift campsite just at the edge of some woods. It wasn't really a light, but it was perfect for heating up some canned goods. They had to eat light to save food.

"Once you've put that… scanner-thingy in place… are you leaving? Right away?" Rue asked after finishing her rations. She kept her voice low, but stayed close enough to be easily heard.

Yang wolfed the last of her own food before replying, "I don't _have_ to. If you like, I could keep you company for a little while longer."

One dark-red eyebrow went up, barely visible in the faint light. "Don't you have to get back quickly?"

"That's the thing… I'm not just traveling worlds, I'm also traveling in _time._ No matter how long I stay here, I'm only gone from _there_ for about 5 minutes. So yeah… no rush."

Rue looked back at their tiny cooking flame and stared at it for several minutes, her face betraying her warring emotions. Yang glanced between her and the light a few times, unsure of what to do next.

"But you _will_ have to go back… eventually… right?"

For some reason, Rue's tone of voice gave Yang the chills. Here was a woman who was soon to face the pain of loneliness once again, but had no desire to do so.

"Yeah… I will. I have promises to keep, you know? Not to mention a little sister to find, other worlds to save, and finally… I gotta make my way home."

For just a moment after she said this, the nearby crickets stopped chirping. It was as though the entire world could barely believe what she just said.

"Home… … …" Rue intoned quietly. "…Is there such a thing…?"

In that instant, Yang's danger sense flared up… then vanished a moment later. She took a quick glance around them, but found no danger approaching. Strange.

Even though that same instinct had saved her life before, Yang chose to ignore it tonight. They had a way into town and, with any luck, she would have the scanner planted before tomorrow was out.

Sleep came quickly again. Yang was getting used to sleeping in Rue's arms, at least.

…

By the time morning came, Yang knew something was wrong. Terribly wrong. She was in big trouble.

The tent was no different than when she crawled into it last night, but now she couldn't move out of it. Her hands and feet were both tied together tightly with a combination of ropes and packing tape. A gag was also wedged into her mouth to keep her quiet.

And there was no doubt about who was responsible – Rue. The older woman was straddling Yang's torso, completely dominating the teenager.

"I am so… so… sorry, Xiao Long…" Rue muttered as her hands worked themselves across Yang's chest, running across the tender parts. "…But I can't let you go away. I won't let you leave me. Not again…" The woman's silver eyes were lined with tears of regret, but they also held a look of desperate hunger.

There was absolutely nothing Yang could do to stop what happened next. Rue didn't rip the blonde's clothes off, but instead she worked around them expertly. There was quite a lot of kissing, licking and biting of several parts that Yang had never let anyone touch before. She tried to scream through the gag, but it didn't get very far.

"More… I need… more…" Rue gasped as she began going further.

The shirt was lifted next, and Rue went down on Yang's breasts like a starving baby. Yang tried to scream again, but only succeeded in hurting her throat. Her own eyes were starting to water, but out of rage and pain.

She was being raped. By a woman who was a grown version of her own sister.

The word 'wrong' didn't begin to describe this.

Once Rue stuck her face between Yang's legs, the blonde started kicking. The moment she felt something warm and wet pressing against her shorts… that was _it_. She gave a mighty kick with her knees, hoping to at least knock the woman away.

She then brought both of her knees together hard against Rue's skull, knocking the woman clean out. Yang stared for a moment before moving again. Once she could focus, she fired up her aura – it didn't take much to snap her bonds and get free. She just needed to be rid of her… distractions.

The teenager could barely focus through her fury to gather what she needed from the campsite and get moving. Her clothes were first, of course. And the scanner. But little else. She briefly considered tying Rue up and leaving her here to die, but quickly dismissed the idea.

And if there were any zombies in her way… heaven help them. Yang was on a rampage right now. It was time to get the damned scanner in place and get the fuck outta here.

Far as she was concerned, Rue could stay out here and _rot_.

…

Two hours later, Yang's anger had run out. Along with her time.

A valley full of ashen corpses lay before her, strewn out rather evenly. Of course, she didn't 'kill' them… they were dead before she ever got there. And Rue had been right – where there was one out in the open, almost a hundred more were hiding in the shadows.

It was like the battle with the Grimm back home all over again. Only this time she was working out her rage from another source…

Betrayal. Rue had betrayed Yang's trust and taken advantage of her.

That hurt. Almost like taking a gunshot wound with no aura shield.

Yang sat on the concrete, nursing a small wound on her right arm. It burned, but it didn't look too serious. She was mostly sore over losing that damned scanner – it had fallen over the edge of a chasm during the fight, lost in the abyss. If she was going to do this right, she would have to venture into the underground and find it…

But that scratch was starting to burn. She rubbed it carefully.

"You there… do you live…?" came a voice from behind her, slightly muffled.

Yang turned to find two faces that seemed familiar, yet… not. One was a tall man with ginger hair, while the other was the spitting image of Neopolitan. Unlike the midget she had encountered back in Carmine's world, Yang could instantly tell that this was a different person.

The Neo-looking woman darted forward, no longer cautious of the undead, and quickly examined Yang's wound. "Roe… it's infected," she showed it to the taller man.

The man called Roe examined the small wound for a moment. "It's not a bite, but the disease still got into your system," he said somberly. "I'd give you about an hour before… well, before I'll have to kill you out of mercy."

Yang stared at the man in shock, then took a closer look at her scratch. She couldn't even remember where it came from, but had no doubt it was from the fight. Thin lines of a greenish-grey color were starting to spread from the cut. In fact, she could actually _see_ them spreading, slowly but surely.

"You mean, I'm…" Yang choked, unable to find the words.

She'd caught the zombie virus. She was going to die… in a way.

"Unfortunately, yes," the man said. "Even this long after the outbreak, there is still no known cure."

"Unless you know any magic…?" the smaller girl said absently.

Yang blinked at them. Magic… in a way, she did. Techno magic. The blonde pulled out her scroll and brought up the return program, hovering her finger over the button used to send her home.

Carmine had said… that they always took the same physical state as when they first left home… each time they traveled like this… so if she transported now… did that mean she could live…?

If it meant failing her mission with the scanner, Yang could live with that. "I left a woman outside of town, called Rue. She might come looking for me…"

The Neo-girl nodded, but the ginger-haired man looked grim. "I've heard about her, actually. None of the rumors were good…"

Yang's mind was starting to grow foggy, but she managed to choke out a few more words, "I also lost… a device… underground… if you can find it… do what you want with it…"

Without waiting for anything else, Yang hit the button. As before, she found herself awash with white light and was gone.

…

…

"…Wow," the shorter girl said, "…She really _did_ know some magic."

"Blonde, too…" Roe said, rubbing his chin. "And if Rue was involved, I'm glad we stepped in. That woman is nothing but trouble."

"How so?"

"From what I've heard, she makes a habit of shooting anyone who wanders into her territory and loots everything she can from them. Kind of like a bandit. And according to the rumors, if her victim is a blonde girl, well…"

"That sounds like a bunch of fantastic stories to me."

"No way to know, is there…? Hell, I've heard one story that she's secretly a vampire! Come on Nee… I would like to find this device that blonde girl mentioned. It might come in handy."

"What about Rue?"

"She's done fine on her own so far, I say let her be. What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"… … …I wonder who she even _is…?"_

"You listen to the radio signals, right? Listening for anything from other survivors? If you hear anyone mention a call sign of 'The Purifier' …that's her."

"I assume there's a story behind that name?"

"Not one that I know… Maybe she wants to be the one to wipe out the zombie plague?"

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _What About (the other) Roman and Neo…?_

…

Roman stared, unable to look away from the rather chaotic scene before him. Neo sat next to him, also staring silently. Of course.

They were inside a house of some kind, but neither of them paid it any mind. Their gazes were aimed outside, into the back yard. There was some sort of party going on, complete with a bunch of familiar kids… but that wasn't the strange part.

Several groups of adults were standing around, looking like they were getting ever-so-slightly drunk on various forms of wine. Roman found himself wanting to try some. Several of the adults looked familiar… but that wasn't the strange part, either.

No… they were both watching Cinder Fall have an awkward conversation with a child. Specifically, That Damned Kid. There was another girl there, someone tall and blonde, but Roman didn't know her name. Looked familiar, though.

An idea suddenly came to the man – the device he stole was close to a scroll, right? Could it take pictures?

He pulled it out and began playing around with it. The thing functioned like a normal scroll, but looked to be a far older model. He hadn't seen one like this in years, at least. Still, it had a camera. He pulled up the feature, aimed the device at the goofy face of his old boss and took the picture.

"When we get back…" he muttered to his partner, "This will really confuse that woman. I can't wait…" He examined the photo slowly, annoyed by the lack of good zoom but satisfied that the image showed what he wanted.

More time passed than he realized. A loud voice suddenly cried from outside, "RAVEN! I'M BORROWING YOUR SAMURAI SWORD!"

Roman and Neo quickly looked each other in the eye and wordlessly grabbed hold. Neo rapidly hit the button and took them away before anyone could run in and find them.

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: I'm sure most of you know by now that fight scenes are NOT my cup of tea. I've tried some in the past, but… I hate how they turn out. Honestly, I feel like the fight scene you, as a reader, imagine in your head is always** _ **far**_ **superior to anything I could write.**

 **For those wondering, the point of Rue's behavior was both to show that she's been alone for** _ **far**_ **too long, and to drive home the seriousness of the danger Yang is putting herself through every time she travels. This is no game. She'll figure that out more after she gets back.**

 **Next chapter… … … the moment you've all been waiting for.**

 **=^w^=**

 _(Credits: Ruby Slippers Babysitter AU written by SumDumMuffin.)_


	31. Hope (part 1)

**A/N: *reads reviews* I, uh… I meant the *other* moment you've all been waiting for. Ladies and gentlemen (a.k.a. my 6 faithful readers), I give you the first chapter featuring an AU Ruby officially made by someone else – Rosey the Faunus Ruby!**

 **Disclaimer: Rosey the Faunus Ruby created by The Layman. And yes, he gave me permission to do this.**

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_/_/_/

 _Subject: 2525-Blake_

 _Target: Remnant-9412 (Faunus World)_

 _Details: Scan incomplete. Initial readings show inverted frequencies of unknown origin, unknown strength, unknown effect. Faunus-Human relations considered volatile. Minor timeline interruption detected._

 _Mission: Locate and identify source of energy reading originating from Remnant-1802, respond as needed._

_/_/_/

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 _(One hour before Blake's arrival, Island of Patch)_

…

The sky overhead was completely overcast with thick, gray clouds. They gave the late afternoon a sense of doom and gloom that seemed to infect everyone on the island. No one moved quickly, nor did they have any sort of spring in their step. Of course, that would have been the case even on a nice day – no faunus could afford to enjoy themselves at a time like this.

There was a storm in the region, and the ocean at the foot of the cliff was rather wild. Waves crashed quite high, almost reaching the tiny, makeshift graveyard positioned at the perfect spot for an epic view of the coast.

It was a graveyard that was, sadly, still growing.

As the young girl gathered the damp soil into a mound, she choked back the tears. Even after doing this so many other times, it never got any easier – if anything, the weight of the losses pressed down harder on her shoulders.

She placed stones around and on top of the mound, just enough to protect it from the harsh sea air for a little while. No one on the island could cut stone, even a little, so this tiny monument would have to be enough. The other four mounds were in various states of disrepair, but she often came here to tidy them up. It was ultimately a pointless gesture, but it kept her busy – the alternative would see her going insane.

Ruby Rose, known as 'Rosey' to her friends, took an empty, well-worn flask from her pouch and placed it at the foot of the newest mound, right next to the one for her father. The other three mounds each had a small token to honor someone she had lost – Yang's mound had one of her golden bracelets, Tai's had a battered scarf, Weiss' had an old snowflake pin Rosey had found in the trash a few weeks ago. Her own mother's grave had a simple, pure white stone.

And now, on the fifth mound, sat Uncle Qrow's flask. It was all she had left of him.

Rosey sat on her heels before the graves of her family. Her _entire_ family. Mother and father, sister, best friend… and now her uncle. She was truly alone.

"I m-miss you, M-M-Mom…" she stuttered silently, her voice carrying a faint whine. Her dog ears were flat against her head in grief.

Most people who knew her would have assumed she was muttering to Summer Rose, the woman who gave birth to her… but they would be wrong this time.

She was currently missing someone else… someone who had 'adopted' her and wanted nothing more than to love and protect her, just like a real mother…

One year ago, Rosey had gone on the most fantastic journey of her life. She met several copies of herself (none of them faunus, by the way), started learning how to read, and even got to run in a fun race against most of the look-alikes.

Most surprising was that world's version of Blake – she was a faunus, just like Rosey. She was also _nothing_ like the Blake here. She was kind, loving, gentle… just like a mother.

Rosey wanted to stay with them, rather than come back to her own home… but in the end, she had no choice. She was pulled back here against her will.

But she did not sit idle while the lessons she learned swam through her mind. Rosey quickly petitioned to the leaders of the White Fang, an organization of faunus who were fighting for equal rights, to acquire some books and start teaching other faunus how to read. Uncle Qrow was her biggest supporter, and he even led two successful raids to bring back some books. Things had been going _so well._

Now he was gone. Dead. Killed two months ago by the woman who shared the same face as the one Rosey had learned to call 'Mom.'

Blake Belladonna. The greatest enemy of the faunus in all of Vale.

With Qrow's death, the White Fang leaders were left in a panic. The Huntsman were making progress at tracking them down, so the logical move was to relocate – interestingly, they moved to the abandoned island of Patch, Rosey's old home. No humans remained after a massive storm nearly leveled the place a few years back, leaving it not only empty… but unwatched. Perfect. The faunus made themselves at home in no time. Most of the operations were underground, in case of any fly-overs.

Rosey came with them for the move… but she wasn't really _there._ Not anymore. Qrow's death hit her harder than anyone else. It took away every scrap of motivation she had gathered after returning from her journey one year ago.

Things were bad _before_ she met the faunus Blake… but now they were even worse. It felt as though her entire world was only moments from falling apart and leaving her for dead. She had considered ending her pain more than once already.

After all… there was no one left who would miss her.

"Miss Rose…!"

A voice called out to her from the tree line, but by the time Rosey looked around, Mister Oobleck was already right behind her. He was _that_ fast. The green-haired man barely looked out of breath as his squirrel ears twitched. "Fall sent me to fetch you. We have Belladonna."

This was enough to get Rosey to her feet. "B-B-Bellad-d-donna…?" She growled as she forced herself to speak normally. Stupid stutter. "How d-did she get here?"

"No one knows for sure. They say she appeared suddenly… and there was some kind of bright light. Fall thought you might want to say a few words before we do anything drastic… Especially after what she did to Qrow…"

A bright light?

… … …No, it couldn't be.

…Could it…?

Rosey nodded, pulling her ragged cloak tighter around her shoulders, "Let's g-go." She tugged the hood over her head out of sheer habit, a move that hid her faunus ears from onlookers. Oobleck gave her a kind smile before zipping away. Rosey didn't need to follow him – she could navigate these woods with her eyes closed.

A bright light? She came out of nowhere?

… … …Was it too much to hope that the woman who arrived… might not be the Blake Belladonna they thought she was…?

Was it too much to hope… … that her Mom might have finally come for her?

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… … … … …

 **Chapter 31:** _  
_ **Hope (part 1)**

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 _(Two hours after Blake's arrival, White Fang jail cell)_

…

Even though she had proven to them that this Blake was a true faunus, the other members of the White Fang remained suspicious. Moving the girl to this holding cell was supposedly for everyone's protection. But it was clear that a faunus version of Blake Belladonna was rather …unsettling.

Since it confirmed Rosey's story. And they didn't like that.

The young dog faunus sat in a chair just outside the bars of the cell, watching the older cat faunus that sat within. She had woken up about ten minutes ago, but so far had remained quiet. Rosey hadn't said anything, either.

The silence stretched for several minutes, which soon became an hour. Any hope that this Blake was the one who knew her, the one she called Mom… was fading fast. Her Mom would have known her instantly, but…

"So… you're a faunus Ruby?" Blake asked quietly.

Rosey shifted in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable in the presence of a stranger. "Y-yeah… I'm c-called R-R-R-R-Rosey. Nice to m-meet you."

Amber eyes glittered in the dim light. "You spoke like you knew me… before…"

Rosey couldn't stop the whine from coming out as she replied, "I thought I d-d-did… b-but I was wr-r-r-r-ong… S-s-sorry…"

"No, _I'm_ sorry…" the older faunus replied quickly, "I should have said something sooner. I thought _you_ were someone else, too…"

Both girls giggled half-heartedly at the awkwardness of the situation. Both of them would just be apologizing all day at this rate.

Rosey started the conversation back up, "A-actually, I… I thought you were the B-B-Blake I r-r-r-r-remembered b-b-because… you were a faunus… and not the human one from this world…"

"… … … …Wait…" Blake finally shifted and stared full into Rosey's face, her eyebrows tightly knitted, _"…Why do you know about other worlds?"_

"B-B-B-Because… I've b-b-been to one…?"

She didn't think those golden yellow eyes could get so big, but they did. "You… How… What… Why…?" Blake's eyes darted around as she thought fast, then locked back on Rosey as she said, "…Do you know the name Carmine? Or Rain?"

"Umm… N-n-no, sorry. I was p-p-pulled into that other w-w-world by someone named R-R-Ruvys…"

"What kind of name is _Roo-vees?"_

"She used magic…"

"Oh, _that_ makes sense."

"And there was also R-R-RJ… and R-R-Rubin… and C-Cress…"

"Okay…" Blake put her hands up to stop the girl, "…I think we have a lot to talk about."

And so they did. The next several hours were spent deep in conversation. Rosey gladly told Blake her story, just as she had done countless other times since coming back. In turn, Blake told Rosey a different version of _almost_ the same story.

Rosey enjoyed hearing about the other, new Rubys. She wanted to meet a few of them, too. Cherry sounded like a real cutie, and Rose sounded like a fun big sister.

In the end, though, she couldn't hide her disappointment that this Blake was, in fact, _not_ her Mom. It was a real letdown.

But maybe… she _could_ be…?

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _(Same time, White Fang main headquarters)_

…

"And you can confirm that Belladonna's ears were… genuine? That Miss Rose made the right move?"

"I can indeed. I've felt the most accurate false ears the humans can make, and these were quite real. That was _not_ Belladonna."

"…Thank you, Ironwood."

"Ma'am."

*sigh* "If she's really a faunus, that means… Miss Rose was right. There really was another world with different humans and faunus…"

"Do you suppose that means that she was right about everything else?"

"I don't know, Ozpin. I would _like_ to think so, but this is all still… so…"

"We just need to take it one step at a time. We know that our visitor looks like Belladonna, but she has true faunus ears. We know that our Rosey seems to know her, and I know that the two of them are currently getting acquainted in the basement."

"I hope that child knows what she's doing."

"Have faith, Cinder. And trust her… if anyone knows their way around a visitor from another world, it's our Rosey."

"I suppose you're right. I only wish… I had the chance to deal with the _real_ Belladonna right now. After what she did to Qrow, I…"

"… … …You will have your chance, my dear. Soon enough."

"Indeed. You know, I suddenly feel like having a drink. Care to join me, Oz?"

"Only if it's not too strong."

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 _(Later that same night, Beacon Academy)_

…

Being rich certainly has it's advantages.

For one thing, you never really have any problems. Throw enough money around and things tend to take care of themselves. If not, you would hire someone else who was able to take care of it for you. It didn't matter if it was your own money or your parent's money, things got done. Still, there was something about using your own money… it was a sign of true success.

As she sat in her private dorm room in Beacon's dormitory building, Blake Belladonna thought of these things. She was currently sitting behind her massive oak desk with ebony inlay, an expensive piece that was the pride of her collection of imported furniture. She loved her money almost as much as she loved her parents, and right now she was staring at an item in her hands that could, potentially, hold the key to her greatest success in this world.

It looked like a stainless steel collar with a hinge and a locking mechanism, but deep within the metallic shell lay a ridiculous level of technology. She called it a 'Calmer.'

This thing… had the power to change the world.

In the right hands, of course.

Belladonna neither knew nor cared who it was that gave her this gift, but she knew what needed to be done. She had two of them now, and the one in her hands had just come back from her labs back home. They had finished scanning the circuitry and were ready to begin the prototype phase, followed closely by mass production – it wouldn't be long before she had at least three Calmers in the hands of each law enforcement officer all over the world.

Once worn, they had an instant calming effect – hence the name – but they also compelled the wearer to obey any command they were given.

 _Any_.

Belladonna stood up, tucking the miracle device into her pocket, and stared out her window at the rest of the campus and the city of Vale beyond. And she thought about money.

Dust was not as profitable as it used to be. The Belladonna Dust Company held an absolute monopoly on the world's supply of dust, but demand was dwindling. Father guessed it was due to the so-called 'black market' supplying dust to Huntsman under the table. They were being out-sold, in other words.

The heiress snorted at the thought. As if some black market nonsense was to blame. She knew the truth.

It was the faunus. It was _always_ the damn faunus.

But that's why the Calmers were necessary – to bring the faunus to heel. Right where they belonged.

A few months ago, Belladonna had taken the lead against a faunus raiding party that was trying to steal _books,_ of all things. Useless. As if any faunus could even read. The leader of the criminals put up a serious fight, but the heiress had a lot of backup on her side – the man was overwhelmed with no trouble.

It was possible that taking the man's head home with her was a _little_ too much… but what good is a hunting story without a trophy?

She also made sure a photo of that head made it's way to those White Fang mongrels. No doubt it had them all pissing their pants. Heh.

A small noise pulled Belladonna's attention back into the room where Snowball was huddled in the corner. She was whining lightly, nudging her empty food bowl. The heiress could clearly hear the low rumble of the empty stomach.

"Aw… is Snowball hungry?" Belladonna cooed. The creature could be so cute when it wanted to.

Snowball's face was a mix of indignation and misery as she merely nodded. She didn't speak because she was a mere animal – and animals didn't speak human words. She wasn't allowed.

Belladonna smugly walked over to a cabinet just over her head (so Snowball couldn't get into it) and pulled out a case of dry cat food. She dumped some of it into Snowball's dish, not caring if a few pieces went flying.

Snowball's fluffy white cat ears went flat against her head in irritation. She really hated this stuff, but it's what cats were supposed to eat. She had no choice.

"Snowball will just have to get over it, won't she?" the heiress said in a mocking tone as she bent down and scratched the space between those ears. Snowball growled threateningly, but did nothing to fight back. The Calmer around her neck glittered in the light.

According to Atlas law, faunus were legally allowed to be owned as slaves – however, that only applied _in_ Atlas. Faunus slaves were illegal everywhere else (for now). Belladonna actually found a loophole, though – her dorm room legally qualified as Atlas property, so she was able to keep Snowball here with her.

Unlike a real cat, Snowball had no fur coat to keep her warm. She used to shiver in shame and cold, but now she was pretty much used to being naked all the time. Cats didn't wear clothes, so why should she?

At first, Snowball fought tooth and claw against Belladonna. Every day was a battle. But once the Calmer was put on her neck, the rest was almost too easy. Snowball became a docile, friendly kitty cat in less than a day.

The heiress went to stand up, slapping Snowball on the ass just because she could and earning a yowl of rage in return. Snowball never spoke, but growled, hissed and meowed just like a cat – that was her _first_ command. "Good night, pretty kitty…" Belladonna grinned evilly. She knew Snowball _hated_ being called a 'kitty.'

Snowball glared at her master with those intense ice-blue eyes. Her hair, once a glowing white, now lay matted and mangled against her head. Her ears were still laying flat. But she said nothing, as instructed.

Yep… these Calmers would change the world, alright.

As Belladonna got ready for bed, she wondered if she should find a way to give Snowball a proper tail. Surely there were shops that sold kinky things like that, yes?

Ah, it was good to be rich.

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 **Author's Note: This part of the story has been swimming around in my head for quite a long time (I started working on it with The Layman back around chapter 5 or 6). And now that it's here, I can hardly wait to deliver it. Prepare for awesomeness!**

 **Just as a note, I will refer to the 'human' Blake of this world simply as Belladonna, rather than Blake. For clarity. Also, that whole faunus slave 'Snowball' part was meant to show just how twisted this bitch is. I'll try and make the next few chapters longer, I swear!**

 **Until next time!**

 **=^w^=**


	32. Hope (part 2)

**Author's Note: You ever sit down to write something… you've got it all in your head, you're ready to go, sitting at the computer,** _ **lemme at 'em**_ **… then you take one look at the screen and your brain goes, "Uhhhhh… … … … …derp…?" That's been me this last week. :(**

 **On another note, since Blake isn't really paying attention to how many days are passing during her stay, then neither will I. All I'm gonna point out is the time of day and the location of each scene.**

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 _(Late morning, Island of Patch)_

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Blake sat beneath the branches of a vast oak tree, just …sitting there. Breathing. Existing. Simple things that the cat faunus just _didn't_ have the time for up until now.

Things had been a little hectic these last few months; her head was _still_ spinning from the madness. And it wasn't just the whole 'traveling the multiverse' stuff that had her feeling dizzy, either – let us not forget Rose and the whole Ruby Squad. And the fact that her own world blew up.

It could be argued that Carmine's scientific clusterfuck was the _real_ starting point to the madness… but for Blake, the issues began much earlier than that.

Blake Belladonna had always been on the run in some form or another. Whether she was a child running from humans that hated faunus, a young girl joining the White Fang, or a student running from a secret no longer hidden, Blake was always running. Always. Not once did she allow herself the luxury of stopping and, as the phrase goes, 'smelling the roses.' Oh the irony.

But now, sitting under this tree, Blake was doing just that. For once, she could open her eyes and _not_ look for hidden enemies or quick escape routes – she saw only peace. Calm.

Her tree stood on a low hill overlooking a valley filled to the brim with wildflowers. At the edges sat a dense array of trees that probably covered most of the island. About a mile and a half away sat the ocean – the occasional breezes carried the telltale aroma of salt water. It was a lovely day, too; the recent storms left very pleasant weather in their wake. Birds were loudly singing from all over the place, clearly audible from anywhere on the island. The sea breeze carried a very slight chill to counteract the warmth of the sun.

Two days ago, Blake had appeared about a mile away from this spot, near the entrance to the underground White Fang base. Soon after that, she met a girl who looked exactly like Ruby Rose, her missing team leader – but the girl was actually a faunus called Rosey.

From there, Blake learned a lot. Maybe a bit too much… yet probably not enough.

First of all, she deduced the nature of this world's difference to her own by direct observation (and some input from Rosey). She saw quite a few faunus among the members of the White Fang here that she knew as humans back home, but none of the faunus she knew from before were here. Therefore, it was safe to assume that in this world, everyone who was human was now a faunus. Likely the opposite was true as well. Blake tried not to imagine what Sun would look like without his tail.

After that, she learned about her own alternate self… the human Blake Belladonna of this world. And she quickly decided that she _never_ wanted to meet that girl face-to-face. Someone would not be walking away from that encounter _._

For Blake, the most worrying part of this new world was the plight of the faunus – it was way, _way_ too close to the vision of the world as seen by Adam if the White Fang should fail. Complete subjugation. Slavery. Faunus treated worse than animals. It was more than terrible… it was _evil._

If Adam were here, how would _he_ handle things? Would he rally the faunus under a banner of war? Or would he hide in the shadows, merely proclaiming the evils of mankind until 'the time was right?'

For that matter… was there a human Adam Taurus in this world? And where would he be?

"B-B-Blake…? D-Do you have a m-moment?"

The stuttering voice of Rosey pulled Blake from her thoughts. The girl stood close by Blake's tree, clutching a pair of books to her chest. She had her hood raised, but Blake could still see her floppy dog ears hidden underneath it.

"Several," the brunette replied with a kind smile. She was still getting used to this new Ruby's extra-nervous nature, and smiles tended to help the poor thing relax. "How can I help you?"

"I was w-wondering… if you'd like t-t-to r-r-r-r-read t-together…?"

The way Rosey stuttered her R's would have Yang making some kind of crack about Rosey 'revving her motor.' Good thing the blonde wasn't here at the moment. "I would love to read with you. What books did you bring?"

Blake's gentle temperament did the trick – Rosey visibly relaxed as she plopped herself down next to the older faunus.

Older? But wait… "Hey Rosey… just curious, but how old are you…?"

Rosey paused, put on a look of concentration, then said, "Sixteen… I think… I d-don't r-r-r-r-r-remember t-too well…"

Not that much older, it seemed. Strange, as the girl looked even smaller than Ruby did, who was a year younger. It was probably the way she carried herself – whenever Blake saw Rosey walking around, the girl always had a stoop to her posture. As though she was trying to make herself smaller than she really was.

Rosey showed Blake two of her treasures, motioning to one, "I'm ab-b-bout halfway through this one… b-b-but I haven't st-t-tarted the other one yet."

 _The Man With Two Souls._ Not surprising that Rosey would be half-done with that one. The gap between the pages where Rosey's bookmark sat clearly showed the girl's stopping point. The other one, though… oh boy. Quite a good pick.

"Let's start the other one, then. The series is really good, but it's a hard read – it took me three tries to get past the fourth book, but once I did… it was totally worth it."

Rosey's face fell at the word 'series.' "I only have this one b-book. I d-d-don't have the others…"

"Ah, that's too bad. Maybe we'll find the rest of it sometime later? There's seven in all."

"…M-Maybe."

"… … …Well, we can still start with this one. It _is_ the first of the series, after all."

"Wh-What's it ab-bout…?"

Blake grinned, her book-loving side just starting to show through. "It follows this guy as he travels around looking for a mysterious enemy… but he ends up in _way_ over his head as he soon finds himself in… other worlds, oddly enough."

"…Like me."

"Ooh…" Didn't think of it like that before. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Blake still reeled every time she remembered the story Rosey told her that night in the cell. How was it possible that another world went through almost exactly the same thing her own world dealt with? And _magic?_ Seriously?

But at least _their_ troubles were over… Blake's world just blew up. Fun.

"Anyway, how about we start with chapter 1?"

Rosey nodded, then smiled as she scooted closer to Blake so they could look at the words together. Rosey held the pages open while Blake supported the weight of the book from behind. This allowed Rosey to turn at her own speed, as well as ask Blake how to read the bigger words.

The pair soon found themselves totally engrossed. They would not move again until the light had faded, signaling the end of the day. And it all began with a single line:

" _The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."_

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 **Chapter 32:** _  
_ **Hope (part 2)**

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 _(Evening, Oobleck's Office)_

…

"Ah, Miss Blake-the-not-evil-one… How can I assist you?"

"Good evening, Professor Oobleck. I was wondering…"

"Actually, it's just Oobleck. I hold no titles, unfortunately. Although I _would_ love the opportunity to earn a proper doctorate. Sadly there are no schools that will allow faunus to join."

"That's … _kind_ of related to what I wanted to talk about."

"Hmm… Hmm… I think I see where you're going with this. According to Miss Rose, you came here from another world, correct?"

"Yes."

"And… would it be safe to assume that things are different in your world than in this one? Social matters? Faunus matters?"

"That's putting it mildly…"

"Indeed. Miss Rose told me about the world she visited last year. She said that faunus in that world were treated more like second-class citizen, rather than pure trash. And in some parts of that world, third-class citizens at worst. Is that true for your own world, Miss Blake?"

"Almost exactly."

"Hmm. Yes, indeed. In that case, I think I can help you. What is it you wish to know? What nugget of historical knowledge can this humble man help you with?"

"'Historical knowledge?' I thought you _weren't_ a professor…?"

"I study history and archeology as a hobby, Miss Blake. I probably know more about faunus history than any other living faunus. Quite a bit about _human_ history, too."

"What happened at the Battle of Fort Castle?"

"… … …That is the one matter I wish you hadn't asked me about, Miss Blake."

"In my world, General Lagune botched a night attack against the faunus and lost a key battle in the war. He was a human, there."

"Unfortunately, our General Lagune was likely just as incompetent as yours – he led the armies of the faunus in a doomed attack on the fort. The humans routed them easily. We lost almost our _entire_ militia, as well as our will to continue the fight. The Battle of Fort Castle was indeed a key battle… it spelled our doom."

"…"

"After that, faunus all over the world became subject to the extreme humiliation and degradation that is our current plight. Humans can barely tolerate our presence within the kingdoms, much less put up with anything we do as a collective people. The only reason we aren't all locked away on Menagerie is because… we don't all _fit."_

"…Gods…"

"And believe me, they tried. I was there."

"I would say I'm sorry, but I know it won't help. I simply can't… _imagine_ what you must have gone through here…"

"My dear, please don't trouble yourself with my problems. Dear Miss Rose is the one who needs your support right now. You are literally the only person she will speak to in this entire base."

"Yeah… she told me what she's been through…"

"She is important to us. To all of us. She's… somewhat like _everyone's_ little sister, if I may wax poetic a bit. Watch over her, Miss Blake… for all our sakes."

"… … …I will."

…

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 _(Mid-day, Office of Cinder Fall)_

…

Every time Cinder closed her eyes, she saw the photo of Qrow Branwen's severed head. It didn't matter that she only saw the thing for half a second when it first arrived, nor did it matter that she immediately had the image shredded and the pieces burned, she still saw it. Every time. And she knew she would see it for the rest of her life.

And she would _never_ forgive Belladonna for that. NEVER.

Cinder's eye twitched in irritation as she took another swig of her drink. It was her third one today, and it was barely lunch time. No one dared call her out on it, however, even if her hobby was getting rather… expensive. The scaly patches of her skin tingled as the drink ran its course.

Right now, the alcohol was the only thing to numb the pain of losing Qrow, even if only a little. Killing Belladonna might work better, but she had to work with what she had. And the Huntress was not likely to simply _walk_ into the base for everyone to beat her up. Leave that for the fantasies.

Cinder gulped the rest of her drink quickly, wincing as it burned all the way down. She glared out of the only window in the whole facility other than the main entrance – as the leader of the White Fang, even if in name only, Cinder was allowed the 'top floor' office – which happened to be the only room to be above ground. She was currently watching the day outside, thinking and wondering about many things.

The new Blake was one of those things. A girl with eyes of a similar shade of yellow to her own. And true faunus ears. And the same face as her mortal enemy.

What could it all mean?

Qrow might have known. There didn't seem to be much that man _didn't_ know. Cinder always felt more… at peace when he was nearby.

Why… oh _why_ … did she not realize what these feelings meant until it was _too fucking late?!_

CRASH!

She barely twitched as the glass in her hand was thrown at the ground with tremendous force. She didn't even look at it. Her mind was once again on the matter that forced her to drown it. Cinder barely registered the act of filling yet another glass with a clear fluid that was not water…

That is, until a breathless young man burst his way in unannounced, "Miss Fall, Miss Fall…!" His deer antlers quivered as he fought to catch his breath.

"It's fine, it was just a glass…" she said mechanically.

"No, it's not that… *pant" …Ironwood sent me… *pant* …There's something you… *pant* …need to see on channel 3…"

The news? Without a pause, Cinder turned on her TV (one of only three on the whole island) and beheld the image of the one face she wanted to tear clean off the skull it belonged to.

Blake Belladonna. The human one. That _bitch._

The hateful Huntress was currently sitting in the news studio with a reporter (whose name Cinder didn't know or care about) and they were part-way through an interview. Behind them was the image of a device that looked suspiciously like a collar, but silver in color. Along the bottom of the screen were the words: _A New Advancement In Law Enforcement Technology?_

Reporter: "So what you're saying is… these 'Calmers' as you call them… are capable of literally calming down anyone who wears them?

Belladonna: "That's the entire point. Handcuffs were fine in the past, but today's criminals are more powerful than ever. My Calmers take that power away and allow for safe and secure transport of dangerous individuals."

Reporter: "So they take away the will to fight?"

Belladonna: "That's the most basic version of what they do, yes."

Reporter: "Are you concerned that they might end up in the wrong hands? That they might… say… be taken _by_ criminals to make hostages easier to control?"

Belladonna: "That was something I worked out in the design phase. All Calmers have a remote cancellation signal that will be given to each officer, as well as to specially trained technicians at each precinct. Also, I designed them to only work on faunus – and we all know they are much more dangerous than any human."

Reporter: "What about side effects? These things sound an awful lot like mind-control devices… are there any lasting effects of wearing one of these Calmers?"

Belladonna: "So far, no. My technicians are still testing them back home, but right now we have a big, fat _zero_ for side effects. My Calmers are totally safe. Once we get everything ironed out, we will begin distribution to every city on Remnant. The people's safety is my top priority…"

Cinder didn't hear the rest of the interview… because she destroyed the TV.

'Calmers?' Only work on faunus? Mind-control devices that take away the will to fight?

 _Faunus more dangerous than humans?!_

Cinder was _very_ willing to show Belladonna just how dangerous she could be. All they needed was some 'alone time.' Oh if _only._

The deer-horned boy was still standing there, unsure if he should flee before the wrath of his boss. Cinder eyed him sidelong and hissed, "Call Oz… we need to have a meeting."

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _(Late Evening, White Fang bedrooms)_

…

Rosey lay still on the cot, her breathing regular. She had fallen asleep slowly, thoughts of their shared book rolling through her mind – Blake had experienced the same rush many times in the past, so she knew the signs. She would make a true bibliophile out of Rosey in no time.

Unfortunately, the young faunus had fallen asleep with a death-grip on Blake's sleeve. The brunette couldn't walk away even if she wanted to.

Blake was currently laying on a cot right next to Rosey's, waiting for the moment where the sleeping girl would release her hold and turn over. Or something. She had to pee soon, so hopefully it wouldn't take too long.

Soon there was a bit of movement and light stirring. In the silence of the vast, empty room, Blake could make out sleepy mumbling, "…I do not aim with my… hand…" and she smiled. Rosey had taken quite a shine to the oath in that book. Not that Blake could blame her – she'd done the same after her first read.

At long last the sleeve was released. Blake carefully stood up, shaking her legs to wake them up a bit, then tried to walk out the door… but before she even took one step, she found herself quickly leaning down and planting a light kiss on Rosey's forehead.

She blinked as she stood back upright. Where did _that_ come from? Goodness sakes…

Rosey's face broke into a sleepy grin as she mumbled, "Love you… Sis…" Blake grinned as well before finally heading to the bathroom. Or the _latrine_ , as these guys called it. Whatever. She had other things on her mind.

While Rosey was cute in her own way, she was no Rose. No one could ever replace _that_ one – those toned arms, that goofy grin, and those skilled hands… Not to mention those candy lips… Ooh, bad Blake. Not now. Stay focused.

Yesterday, Rosey asked if she could call Blake 'Mom' like she used to do with the Blake she met before… but was refused. First of all, she and the previous Blake were two different people who had two different experiences with Rosey, so grouping them together like that was a bit… what was the word, rude? Inappropriate? Second, the two of them were only one year apart in age – if anything, Blake should be more like a big sister than a mom.

Rosey agreed. From then on, Blake was 'Sis.'

Somehow, that seemed to cause the dog faunus to become a bit more… clingy. Rosey tried to stay by Blake's side all the time from that point on, even if it meant things like _barging into the bathroom._ Yeah, that was rather embarrassing for both of them. The shorter girl promised she would knock from then on. Her stutter was so bad then that the promise itself took almost a full minute to say.

Clinging to Blake's sleeve at bedtime was a bit childish, but the brunette allowed it. Rosey had been alone for a long time, after all.

As Blake finished her business in the bathroom and started walking back, Oobleck stopped her in the hallway, "Miss Blake… may I have a word with you? In private?" His squirrel ears twitched rapidly as he spoke. He seemed nervous.

A few minutes later, the pair had made their way to his office. He shut the door behind them and made for the coffee pot – apparently coffee was easy to get here, but tea was rare and expensive. Dammit. Taking a swig, the man went into full serious mode and stated, "There's been an incident."

Blake didn't dare interrupt, so she leaned against the wall and nodded for him to continue.

"Miss Fall gathered the White Fang leaders for a meeting the other day and told us about something the human Belladonna was up to – some kind of mind-control device that supposedly only works on faunus. And, well… to say that she was mad would be to say that the ocean is a bit _damp_."

Blake chuckled at the analogy, but remained silent.

Oobleck drained his mug before finishing, "She stormed out with a half-dozen of our best fighters to hunt down the distribution center for these devices and destroy it. We don't have any real fighting power left here. If something happens to them… or to us here…"

"The White Fang is finished as an organization."

"Indeed."

A full minute passed in silence as the information sank in. Blake had met the faunus version of Cinder Fall that ran the White Fang, and the woman was none too pleased to find the face of Blake Belladonna before her, even if it belonged to a real faunus.

This version of Cinder had patches of snake-like scales on various parts of her body, each bearing the pattern of a diamondback rattler. While that seemed appropriate, Blake would have expected her to have horns like Adam. To hear that she became enraged and charged off blindly into battle did not surprise the brunette much. She did wonder how this faunus Cinder fared in battle, though. Maybe she had poisoned fangs?

"Was there anything else?"

"No, Miss Blake. My apologies if anything I said upset you, but I thought you should be aware of what's going on. And, obviously, don't tell Miss Rose… no need to upset her unnecessarily."

"Thank you, Profe- …I mean, Oobleck."

…

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _(Sometime in the night, hidden underground tunnel)_

…

Three days. That was all the time they had to wait for the bad news. It was rare for so much to go so wrong so quickly.

Blake walked carefully in the pitch blackness of the tunnel, careful to watch her step and not slip. Rosey clung to her arm, walking next to the brunette and whining in fear every so often. Other than the ragged breathing of eight scared and desperate faunus, that was the only sound anyone could hear. There was no way to tell how deep they were, either.

Ozpin led the way through the darkness. Blake and Rosey took up the middle of the procession. Ironwood and a few others were with them, as they were the only ones to make it out of the base.

Oobleck was not with them. He had stayed behind the make sure they could get out. He had sacrificed himself to ensure their survival. Blake prayed fervently that he was still alive out there.

Cinder's mission had not only failed, but it was actually a trap. Belladonna knew they would try something. One faunus managed to escape and bring back the bad news, and according to him the target facility was filled with Huntsman who were just… _waiting_ for them. Other than the messenger himself, Fall was the only survivor – and she had been captured and led away in chains.

Then one shot rang out through the base… and the messenger fell. The Huntsman that shot him seemingly came out of nowhere, but a whole squad of them had followed the panicked faunus back to his base. Death and chaos followed soon after.

Blake's memory of the event was shaky, but she clearly remembered how Ozpin came out of nowhere and pulled herself and Rosey, along with Ironwood and a few others into a hidden escape tunnel. He tried to bring Oobleck, but the green-haired man was determined to keep the attackers distracted long enough to buy them time.

So many gunshots. So much screaming. Gods… how could this have happened? And those Huntsman… how could they just trample through and kill everyone like that?! They treated the faunus like _monsters!_ Even with the tales Blake had heard, she didn't expect such… brutality.

"Break," Ozpin said from the front.

The group quickly squatted or sat down in the dirt to catch their breath. They had been walking fast or running for almost an hour, but so far there was no sign of an exit.

But it was still better than staying back at the base. They would have been killed quickly. Oobleck's distraction seemed to work, though, as there was also no sounds of pursuit.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Blake asked quietly. Sound carried well in here, so there was no need to yell.

Ozpin waited a moment before replying, "Somewhere safe." As if _anywhere_ was safe in this gods-forsaken world.

Another 3 hours passed in this way, though it could have easily been longer as there was no way to tell time down here. They took several breaks, but the tunnel remained dark. Luckily the group was all faunus – if not for their enhanced night vision, they would all be totally blind down here. Also lucky was the fact that one of the faunus in the group had been wise enough to grab an emergency rations package before they fled. It was enough food to support them for almost a week… if they lived that long.

…

At last they reached the end of the tunnel, where a sturdy ladder awaited them. At the top was a metal trapdoor… and beyond that was their sanctuary.

Ozpin went first, then Blake came up with Rosey close at her heels, followed by the others. Everyone but Ozpin stared at their new surroundings with awe.

There was no way to know how vast the room was, yet Blake tried anyway. She guessed it might have been a quarter mile from end to end, and maybe half a mile from floor to ceiling. Maybe. The vast archways and columns had a way of distorting her perception. It was a dark green in color, with a black tiled floor that looked to be made of something extremely strong.

Near the trapdoor they came out of sat a cluster of complicated-looking machines and tubes. Blake was suddenly reminded of Carmine's transport device, but this one seemed made for a different purpose.

"No excess noise, and no touching anything. This room is deep enough underground that it has no security sensors, but we still don't want to attract any …untoward attention." Ozpin's quiet warning brought everyone's mind back to their present situation. "We can't stay for too long, but right now this is the only safe place we have… right under their noses."

They were beneath Beacon? Blake blinked at the man, trying to figure out how he could have know about a room like this. Professor Ozpin had always been hard to read, even back home. Try as she might, Blake could find no sign of any faunus traits on him – the man looked _exactly_ the same as her old headmaster, even down to his nice suit.

She then turned her attention to the large glass tube at one side of the machine. The one with somebody inside it. It was a girl, that much was obvious. Her brown hair lay still beneath two short rabbit-like faunus ears. Her face and chest bore large scars. By all accounts, it looked like the machinery here was made to keep her alive.

"I'd be happy to explain all of this later," Ozpin mentioned from beside Blake, "But we need to focus right now. We are in serious trouble. Fall has been captured and the humans are poised to strike the final blow against us. The White Fang has been compromised… but as long as we live, it will not fall."

Ironwood and a few others gave an affirmative grunt. They kept it low, as instructed.

Rosey looked up with a face filled with fear and worry, "B-B-But… what c-can we d-d-do? This all s-s-s-seems so h-hopeless…"

"Ozpin," Blake said suddenly, still gazing at the still form of the girl in the tube, "…do these machines have access to the CCT?"

The silver-haired man blinked, then said, "They do, but their only function is to keep Amber alive…"

"All I need is access. And do any of you…" the brunette turned to the remaining faunus, "…know your way around a computer?"

Four sets of eyes glanced at each other uncertainly, but a fifth one gazed steadily at Blake. One hand slowly raised as a voice quietly said, "… … …I do."

"And you are…?"

A short girl with ginger hair and fish fins near her ears made her way to the platform where Blake and Ozpin were standing, then introduced herself, "…Penny." Her green eyes remained downcast, but Blake could just see a spark in them. This girl had a hidden strength in her. And she was quite familiar…

"I almost didn't recognize you. Penny… Polendina, right?"

The girl looked up, startled, then glanced over at Ozpin. "How did you…?"

"I knew a girl just like you back home, but she was a bit more… outgoing."

"…Sorry," her eyes fell again, "…I'm not good at making friends."

"If you can get us into the CCT, you will _definitely_ be my friend," Blake said reassuringly, patting the ginger-haired girl on the shoulder. "And if my guess is right, you should be _really good_ at that."

The spark in Penny's eye became a gleam. That was more like it.

"I take it you have a plan of some sort?" Ozpin mused.

"I do, but it's going to take all of us. And since we _literally_ have nothing left to lose, then we have to make this work," Blake said as she turned to regard the entire group. They were all that was left of the White Fang, but they would have to be enough.

If they failed, they were all dead. And Blake would be damned before she just… _warped away_ and left them to die. That was simply _not_ an option today.

"The first thing I need is a set of Belladonna's clothes…"

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **Rosey: The g-g-gunslinger is so c-cool!**

 **Blake: Yeah, I agree.**

 **Rosey: D-Do you think we'll see the g-gunslinger R-R-R-R-Ruby from that 100-Ruby B-Battle again? The f-fans seemed to like her…**

 **Blake: Probably not. And besides, they probably just saw the movie. I doubt there were any real Dark Tower fans who liked seeing her show up.**

 **Rosey: Why d-do you s-s-say that?**

 **Blake: *leans close* Because a REAL fan would have noticed that the gunslinger Ruby showed up in chapter NINETEEN.**

 **Rosey: *o***

…

 **A/N: Ooh, Blake's being a savage. :)**

 **So yeah, a lot happened pretty fast… again. Sorry if it seems like I'm going** _ **too**_ **fast, but if I lingered on every part of the story then it would last for** _ **way**_ **too long. And then** _ **I**_ **would get bored with it, nevermind my readers. And besides, just like the fights scenes, I feel that you guys can fill in the missing pieces on your own far better than I could.**

 **Next time, we see how Blake pulls everyone's asses out of the fire… and things get a little epic at the end.**

 **Later!**

 **=^w^=**


	33. Hope (finale)

**Quick Note: The events at the end of this chapter were directly inspired by the song "This Is Me" from the soundtrack for** _ **The Greatest Showman.**_ **As in, I literally rewrote the ending after hearing the song – once you get there, you'll see why.**

 **And if you don't cry before this is over, then you have no soul.**

* * *

…

… … …

… … … … …

Belladonna was feeling particularly proud of herself today.

And she had good reason – thanks to her efforts, the leader of the White Fang was safely imprisoned. The only downside was that she didn't have a chance to equip the woman with one of her Calmers. Now _that_ would have been funny. Instead the woman was simply bound with quite a lot of chains, including a solid mask around her mouth – they didn't want to take the chance that she could _actually_ spit poison. Snakes were unpredictable, after all.

Cinder Fall was slated for a public execution in about a week. Oh what a show that would be. Maybe she'd even let Snowball watch… if she was a good kitty.

Heh. Maybe _that_ would finally break that stubborn faunus' spirit.

In any case, it was another fine day. Bright sunshine, lovely cool air, and adoring plebeians all around to shower her with rightly-deserved praise. A fine day, indeed.

"Hey Blake, how's that headache?" one younger Huntsman asked in passing. She had never seen him before, so she simply ignored his attempt at being overly friendly. She had better things to do.

The CCT Tower at Beacon was probably one of the most important buildings in the entire kingdom. Within these walls lay the technology to communicate with all three of the other towers around the world, a feat unmatched by any other on this planet. Her own kingdom, Atlas, lay hundreds of miles to the north – it would take the postman quite a while to deliver a letter there. Hence the need for the CCT Tower.

Belladonna also kept a private server on the network, and was quite proud of it. Literally no one else could access it, as it was triple-locked and secured against every type of hacker imaginable. Only Belladonna's own retinal pattern could unlock it, and no one else had access to _that_.

Good thing, too – Belladonna kept things on that server that were better left hidden. Personal notes, a weekly diary, and quite a few legal documents that could do serious damage if they ever saw the light of day.

"Miss Belladonna, good day to you. Did you forget something in the tower?" asked a teacher as she passed, still heading for the large building. Belladonna simply gave the teacher an annoyed look, then kept walking. Forget something? If she did, then it was a week ago. No matter.

Upon ascending the steps and entering through the sliding double doors, Belladonna was enraptured once again by the look and feel of Atlesian technology. Inside the tower was practically like coming home.

"Ah, Miss Belladonna… welcome back. Are you feeling better?" asked the main technician at the front desk, a girl who often greeted the Huntress on her weekly excursions into the tower.

"I'm feeling just fine, thank you," the brunette replied absently. "I need to access my personal terminal."

"Again? No problem. Glad your head's feeling better," the girl replied with a smile.

"…" Belladonna stared in a mix of annoyance and confusion at the strange peasant, then made her way to the elevator.

Up until this point she'd ignored the comments, but now… she was growing suspicious. Why did everyone act like they'd just seen her less than an hour ago? And with a headache, no less? Nonsense… she'd never had a headache in her life. They were just going mad.

The terminal room was half-full of other Huntsman and various teachers going about their usual, peasanty business. A few normal civilians were also there, but the place was never full. Belladonna easily made her way to her private terminal, a system set back in a corner to keep the contents of the screen safely away from the security cameras. Never know who might take a peek.

Approaching the spot, Belladonna had her first moment of panic – the chair had not been pushed in. She _always_ pushed the chair in when she left, and the workers here knew better than to mess with it.

The panic died quickly, however, as she decided it was simply a careless janitor. Or something equally innocent.

Still, something was off…

Acting on a hunch, Belladonna quickly logged into her server and checked the activity log… then clearly felt her heart leap out of her throat.

Last access time was… _two hours ago?!_

She hadn't been back here since last week.

…This was not good.

Leaving her server, Belladonna quickly accessed the building's security cameras from right where she sat – possible thanks to a special password she knew that gave her access to quite a bit more than a normal Huntress was normally allowed. Another benefit of being rich.

Her shock quickly escalated as she watched footage of… _herself_ walking into the CCT Tower. Two hours ago.

But… two hours ago, Belladonna was in the city. How the _hell…?_

The woman on the cameras looked _exactly_ like her, almost to the point where the brunette wondered if she hadn't sleepwalked her way in. A few times the look-alike seemed to be rubbing her head, but otherwise she acted like Belladonna herself did. She wondered if she might be going mad.

From the main camera in the terminal room, Belladonna watched as her look-alike pulled out a completely different scroll (this one a dark purple color) and plugged it into the system. She was clearly doing _something,_ but it was impossible to tell what from this angle.

Pausing the footage, Belladonna rushed back to her server and checked the activity log again – and nearly passed out.

Two hours ago, _her_ _entire server had been copied to an external storage device._

Holy. Fuck.

'Bad' did not begin to describe this situation.

In a fit of brilliance, Belladonna returned to the security camera footage. If she could follow the imposter out of the building through the cameras, maybe she could track them down and stop any attempt at blackmailing her before it could even start. It would have to be just her, though – involving any other Huntsman could result in too many questions about what they were actually hunting.

But she didn't even get that far. Right after downloading everything, the imposter wrote something down on a piece of paper right there at the terminal, then appeared to attach it to the bottom of the chair.

The imposter then turned… and looked directly at the security camera. Directly at Belladonna herself, through the screen. And she grinned.

Her eyes were _exactly the same._

Without even thinking, Belladonna reached down and found the paper still attached to the bottom of her chair. The note contained two things – an address to a warehouse in the city, and… a roughly scribbled version of the White Fang symbol.

Challenge accepted, Miss Imposter. Whoever you are, you will _greatly_ regret messing with the daughter of the Belladonna family.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 33:** _  
_ **Hope (finale)**

… … … … …

… … …

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

Blake rubbed her ears again, hoping the next part of the plan wouldn't take too much longer. Keeping them pinned down under her hair like this really hurt.

But the effect was perfect. No one could tell the difference.

She stood in the warehouse indicated by the address, waiting and watching. The earpiece was silent, but she knew that Penny was keeping a lookout – as soon as she knew Belladonna was coming, the robot-in-hiding would give her a warning (Blake smiled as she remembered how hard the girl pleaded for her to keep that particular detail a secret).

Blake adjusted Gambol Shroud on her back for the 15th time, then rubbed her sore faunus ears again. It had taken a bit of work to get her looking just like Belladonna, but once they were done even Ozpin couldn't tell the difference. The clothes they nabbed fit perfectly, and after pinning Blake's cat ears down (as Belladonna did not wear Blake's standard ribbon) the job was done.

Still, things were not going _at all_ like Blake originally planned… this was much better.

 _(Four hours earlier)_ _/_/_/

…

 _After a bit of touch-and-go with the other human Huntsman, Blake soon located 'her' dorm room. The plan was quite simple at this point – cause mischief and get Belladonna in trouble. That was all she had, really._

 _Once she got there, Blake discovered just how handy her new scroll actually was – Carmine had included a small program to hack into electronic locks of any strength. Blake got in with no trouble. She also made a mental note to ask Carmine why the hell she included a program like that in the first place._

 _But then the plan changed._

 _Blake was none too pleased to find a ragged and badly emaciated faunus girl huddled in the corner of the room, naked and shivering with a collar around her neck. She didn't recognize the girl at first, but slowly put the pieces together… since she looked almost exactly like Sapphire Schnee, but with Weiss' white hair and ice-blue eyes. And snowy white cat ears. She also looked fit to kill anyone who got too close._

 _Finally remembering the name of Weiss' older sister, Blake carefully said, "…Winter?" It was getting easier to remember the whole human-faunus-switch thing with this world._

 _Winter the faunus jerked at being called her real name, but didn't let her guard down for a second._

 _Blake took a careful, quiet step closer and undid one of her ear clips, letting a single black cat ear pop back up. Winter reacted like she'd just had a gun pointed at her face, darting backwards with a look of panic._

" _It's okay, it's okay… I'm not… Belladonna. I'm more like her twin, but not evil," Blake tried lamely. "I'm not going to hurt you."_

 _In a bizarre moment, Winter crawled closer with a look of confused wonder. She didn't even try to stand up straight but walked on all fours. She slowly reached forward with one hand, then paused and gave Blake a questioning look._

" _Be gentle," the brunette said._

 _The silver collar around Winter's neck flashed with a blue light. Winter flinched, then gently reached up and touched Blake's cat ear. That seemed to do the trick as the woman's distrust fully evaporated. The ragged woman now looked at Blake with an expression of pleading, pointing at her collar and almost crying. She still didn't speak, though._

 _Without a second thought, Blake reached out and undid the clasp. She started to pull the wretched thing away, but Winter stopped her hands before they got too far._

" _Wait," she said with a rough voice, unused to speaking, "I'm safer staying here. If they find me outside, they'll kill me. But I need to speak to you, and I can't with that damned thing on me…"_

 _For the next ten minutes, Winter Schnee the faunus updated Blake on the evils of her human double. She also mentioned overhearing Belladonna speaking of a 'private server' in the CCT that she was quite proud of. Apparently it held a lot of secret things that could be used against her – Belladonna was prone to bragging about herself, but never imagined 'Snowball' could give her away._

 _Blake left the room after re-securing Winter's Calmer… but with a solemn promise that the woman would soon be free of her bondage. Truly free._

 _Mischief was no longer enough. Blake now had the means and the motive to bring Belladonna's world crashing down around her._

 _It was time to end this._

…

_/_/_/

Blake's semblance was perfect for jumping between different areas of the Beacon campus unseen, mainly to keep anyone from tracking her movements with security cameras. As such, she made it back to the others in the basement with no incident. A quick meeting with Ozpin and the other refugee faunus was enough to confirm the plan – obtain Belladonna's secrets, then get her out of Beacon for a short time. Everyone else would do the rest.

It was still a dangerous plan, not the least because Belladonna was a bit of a monster. Rosey was completely against the idea of letting Blake face her alone.

_/_/_/

" _I d-d-don't wanna lose any m-m-ore f-family," she had whined back then. Blake almost broke right at that moment, but after putting up with her own Ruby's variant of the puppy-dog eyes, Blake was a bit more prepared._

" _It needs to be done, Rosey, and you know I'm the only one who can do it. Danger is part of the job."_

" _B-B-B-But… if you d-d-die, then I'll b-be all alone again…" the girl cried, tears flowing freely down her face and hands locked around Blake's sleeves._

" _Hey Rosey," she said gently, waiting until Rosey's attention was fully on the taller faunus. "Back home we have a saying. It's almost like a little proverb, first said by a very wise man many years ago. Nowadays it's almost like a tiny prayer. It's usually said by the families of Huntsman and Huntresses before they go out on a mission."_

" _And… wh-wh-what's that…?" the girl sniffed. The other faunus in the room were also listening attentively._

 _Blake smiled, then looked Rosey right in the eyes and said, "Three little words:_ Keep moving forward. _No matter how hard life gets, no matter how much it hurts, that's all you can do… just keep moving forward. If I_ don't _come back, then that's what_ you _have to do… keep moving forward."_

_/_/_/

"That goes for me, too," Blake mumbled into the empty warehouse. Her earpiece buzzed briefly, almost echoing in the silence. It was time.

She adjusted her top slightly, a nicely-tailored shirt that resembled Blake's standard black and white outfit, but with longer sleeves and far nicer detailing and fabric. It also had a rich feeling, like it was made simply to make everyone else feel meager by looking at it. Blake hated it. She also hated the fact that she had to pin her cat ears down beneath her hair to keep the profile the same – her constant rubbing had caused people to think she had a headache.

Truth be told, Blake was more than ready for an event like this. Her years with the White Fang had prepared her for more than just hit-and-run tactics and general anarchy – Adam had personally instilled within her a hatred for racist bigots. _Real_ pissants like Belladonna.

Thinking back, that hatred was never present around Weiss Schnee even when they first met. She still knew _who_ Weiss was, but there was just …no hatred. Could it be she sensed the goodness in Weiss right away? Could it be she instinctively knew that the girl was merely… misguided?

"Well, well, well… I assume that if I check my wardrobe tonight, I will likely find one of my outfits missing?"

Her own voice cut through thoughts of the past as Blake beheld herself approaching. Visually, anyway. The smug attitude dripping from that face was far and away completely different from her own.

Blake simply met her eyes, but said nothing. Let her think she's looking at some kind of mirror image.

"I must say," the girl mused as she slowly walked around Blake, eyes sweeping over every inch of the faunus and causing a wave of nausea, "…it was hard to tell from the video, but you _do_ look just like me. Marvelous. How much did the plastic surgery cost you, peasant? And how did you hack my security? I would pay good money to have such talent on my side, you know…"

Blake had to fight back the urge to gag. This girl was acting almost exactly like she had imagined Weiss would act before they actually met. Disgusting.

"Nothing to say for yourself? That's okay… you probably sound horrible. Copying my majestic voice would be beyond the skill of any surgeon…"

"Don't be too sure," Blake finally said, causing the human double to smile broadly.

"Oh _ho!_ She speaks! And you truly _do_ sound just like me! Fantastic… simply fantastic…" Belladonna came closer, almost within arms reach. She kept circling, but Blake got the distinct impression that the girl was ready to reach out and _touch_ the miracle copy of herself. "If you return what you have stolen, perhaps I will hire you to be my body double. Then I can be in two places at once. Glorious…"

Blake waited, willing to let her human duplicate talk herself to death if need be. Her patience hit the limit when Belladonna came even closer… and brushed a hand over Blake's ass. The girl's other hand crept into her pocket, reaching for something hidden.

"Mmm… and I've always fantasized about… fucking myself… … …" She licked her lips as she said, "Would you like a taste right now, cutie?"

Wow… racist, demented, elitist, money-loving, and now a pervert Narcissist? What's next, cannibalism? For the love of the gods, this woman was lost. Blake actually felt a touch of _pity_ creeping into her hatred for this person.

"Somehow… I doubt you'll feel that way much longer…" Blake mused as she reached up to her hair. She thanked the gods that she could finally be free of these damned clips as she carefully pulled them out.

The moment Blake's ears were free, Belladonna dropped the item from her other hand as her face morphed from confusion to pure, indignant rage in the blink of an eye. She also wiped her hand on her pant leg, as though getting rid of dirt.

" _FAUNUS! BEAST! HOW DARE YOU MOCK MY BEAUTIFUL FACE WITH THOSE ABOMINABLE EARS!"_

Belladonna drew her own Gambol Shroud in a heartbeat, swinging wildly. Blake countered effortlessly, knowing how to keep a rage-blinded warrior at bay.

Neither brunette noticed the clacking sound as the Calmer Belladonna had brought with her dropped to the floor, forgotten. Blake would never know how close she came to being enslaved by her evil double.

The next hour passed by in just a few minutes, the two brunettes lost in the frenzy of battle. After her blind rage wore off, Belladonna fought at nearly the same level as Blake herself. The two of them were toe-to-toe at several points in the fight.

"I'll kill you, faunus _filth!"_ Belladonna growled and spit more than once through the fight. Somehow it seemed as though she forgot all about the stolen files.

Blake never replied, but only grinned to taunt her enemy.

If Belladonna had properly finished her Huntress training, then she might have held the advantage. Her semblance was similar to Blake's, but her shadow clones could keep moving for about a second before fading. This difference _could_ have given her the win… but it wasn't enough.

Blake held three distinct advantages in this fight: first, she had more fighting experience than Belladonna, giving her a much larger pool of Aura to draw from and letting her last longer. Second, that experience was different than what a mere student at a Huntsman Academy would possess, even at higher levels – Belladonna simply wasn't trained to handle what Blake dished out.

Third, Belladonna was fighting a faunus – and she never truly took the faunus seriously. In a word, she _underestimated_ what Blake could do. Badly.

An hour was all it took for the human to fall to her knees in exhaustion. A careful eye would have noticed that she did not have a scratch on her – a few bruises, but no cuts. Her fancy clothes were undamaged.

But she had lost.

Evidently this was enough to jar Belladonna's memory. "Give… me… those files… before I… get angry…" she growled around her gasps for air.

Blake, merely breathing a bit harder than normal, smiled innocently and said, "…What files?"

" _Don't you fucking play with me, beast!"_ the human snarled as she fired a shot from her weapon, which was easily deflected by the faunus' sword.

"If you mean my scroll, then you're out of luck," Blake said, still grinning evilly. "I don't have it."

Belladonna's look of stunned confusion was priceless.

"I sent all the files to the police… _before you ever got here."_

The human gave a very …animalistic scream of rage as she charged forward, weapon be damned, holding her hands out like she was aiming for Blake's neck. The faunus easily sidestepped and landed a karate chop to the girl's neck, knocking her to the floor.

Sheathing her weapon on her back, Blake looked down at the fallen huntress and muttered, " _…Always fantasized?_ You need help, girl…" then walked out.

The keystone had been removed. It was now just a matter of time before the kingdom falls to ruin…

…

… … …

… … … … …

"…"

"Your face is plastered on every news channel in Vale."

"…I know…"

"Everything you've done, and everything you've ever planned, is all out there for the world to see."

"… …I know…"

"Your little 'Calmer' project has been cancelled and all materials related to it have been seized. Even the faunus you've taken prisoner have been released due to …complications."

"… … …I _know_ , dammit…"

"Luckily for me, none of the legal documents you possessed had my name on them. I kept _those_ in my office. As far as the public is concerned, your only ties with me are professional."

" _How_ _lucky for you."_

"But even if they doubt the validity of most of the information, it's enough evidence for them to investigate every single aspect of your life. The truth is out there, Miss Belladonna. I think we can both agree that your reputation is permanently ruined."

"…Stupid… faunus… look-alike…"

"As much as I trust and respect you, Blake… that story is a bit hard to swallow. You claim that the faunus produced a perfect copy of _you_ and sent her out to screw up your life? Motives aside, they don't have the manpower or the resources to launch that kind of a strategy. We both know that."

"…"

"Your father contacted me, as well. Once he was informed of your 'secrets,' we had a little …discussion."

"That doesn't sound good."

"He decided to publicly declare you as an exile from the Belladonna family. No inheritance, no regular allowance, no power. I had no choice but to support his decision, as I'm sure you know."

"You… you… you… you…"

"I'm sorry, Bel… but you brought this on yourself. Even as headmaster of Beacon, there's only so much I can do. At least I can fight to keep you enrolled as a student, but that's about it. Anything else will make it look like I'm condoning your actions."

"…"

"But don't think I'm going to sit back and simply let you fall."

"…Professor?"

"As you know, in one month there will be a summit of every world leader in Vale's downtown district. The biggest peace talks since the end of the Great War. The entire world will be watching. As headmaster of Beacon, I can turn a lot heads however I want."

"…"

"All I have to do is convince the world that the faunus are a threat… or that they are threatened themselves, depending on the overall mood of the summit. I shall offer a plan to relocate each and every faunus in the world to the desert of Vacuo, since Menagerie is far too small. Keep all the faunus in, and keep the humans out."

"And how is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"…? No, not really…"

"Because if they're all in one location… and that location happens to _disappear…"_

"…!"

"Now you're getting it."

"But …how can you make an entire location disappear? Wouldn't that take more dust than both Atlas and Vale combined can produce?"

"I'll worry about that. You just get some rest. And don't go into the city for a time. In fact, don't leave the campus at all. If you do, I can't offer you sanctuary any more. And the public won't be too happy to see the one who lied to them…"

"I _get_ it, damn. I'll hit the gym to work out some stress first. Oh, and Professor Taurus?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks… for sticking with me."

"Get some rest, Bel. Our fight against the faunus filth is not over yet."

…

… … …

… … … … …

That evening saw Belladonna return to her room in a seething rage. The faunus had ruined everything. _Everything._ There was literally nothing left to shit on.

Among the numerous documents hidden on her private server was her personal observations on the functions of the Calmers – the _true_ function. Pages and pages of observations that perfectly corresponded with each other, nullifying any argument that it was made up or in error.

That document, all by itself, was enough to kill the Calmer Project. Especially when it counteracted nearly everything she had declared about it in public.

They worked on anybody, faunus or human. There was no cancellation code. She didn't have any clue how they fully worked, nevermind designing them herself. And there were lasting effects if you gave the right commands, orders that could linger if worded right.

In short, they were _far_ too dangerous for public use.

Still chewing on her defeat by her faunus look-alike, Belladonna entered her room to find a mess – apparently the police had been through it, looking for more evidence. She moaned as she beheld her very expensive imported bed, sadly flipped on it's side and bulging in the middle. Yeah, it was ruined.

As the door silently clicked shut behind her, something Headmaster Taurus said came back to her mind: _All materials relating to it have been seized._

And they were in here. With Snowball.

Oh, no…

As soon as Belladonna turned around to see who shut the door, she regretted it. Something heavy slammed into her jaw, breaking it and sending her to the floor with a dull cry of pain. She moaned loudly, but this time from sheer agony. She tasted her own blood for the first time in her life. Disgusting.

Snowball stood over her, holding a wide candlestick imported from the far east of Mistral. It now dripped with blood from Belladonna's broken mouth.

"That was for my sister, you _slime…!"_ she snarled.

Unable to cry for help, Belladonna's amber eyes grew wide with pure terror as the faunus woman took hold of the weapon with both hands. Her face twisted with rage as she lifted the candlestick over her head.

"But this… … … _is for me…!"_

…

… … …

… … … … …

The victory against the evil Belladonna was short-lived.

Even getting Cinder back didn't help, as martial law was suddenly declared all over the kingdom. Faunus of every age, gender and type were gathered into an entire district of the city of Vale and imprisoned there. Within a week the place was packed to the brim. It was large enough to hold everyone, but just barely – the area was surrounded by high walls of canvas and wood spikes, metal sheets, and even a few stone walls, whatever they could gather in short notice. The only way in or out of the encampment was one massive rusty gate kept locked with a thick chain. One single padlock was all that stood between the faunus and the rest of the world.

But Blake and Ozpin had vanished.

Their last orders for Rosey and the other faunus were to quietly go along with the relocation, not standing out in any way. Cops and Huntsman were on the lookout for any lingering trace of the White Fang, so they had to blend in. The two of them left with promises of their eventual return.

That was three weeks ago. Still nothing.

Rosey the faunus sat in the corner of a quiet little shack, her eyes empty of life. She saw without seeing, listened without hearing. Dead to the world around her.

"She… who aims w-with her hand…" she barely whispered.

All around her sat hand-made gifts and cards of well-wishing. She was something of a local celebrity among the faunus of the city due to her involvement with the White Fang, as well as her very sympathetic story. She didn't care about any of it.

"…Has forgotten… the face…"

She'd left her books on Patch, along with nearly every other item she once held any sort of claim over. Her entire life was now located in a tiny room in the back corner of a concentration camp filled with faunus. She had nothing else.

Blake had left her. Sis was gone.

"…Of… her… m-m-mother…"

_/_/_/

…

 _Eventually, Blake reached up and undid her bow, exposing her Faunus ears. "Hey," she said, "I know what it's like."_

" _N-no you d-don't!" she spat, not looking up, "Y-you're the w-worst one *hic!* of them all!"_

 _Blake continued, "I'm a Faunus, just like you."_

 _The girl obviously didn't believe her, because she lunged for her weapon, screaming wordlessly. Yang was having none of this and tackled the Faunus version of her sister before she could reach it, struggling to keep her held in check with how much and how furiously she fought back._

" _Calm_ down _already, will ya?" the blond strained, the Faunus Ruby wriggling violently, "Geez, you're worse than Ruby when we try to get her to eat vegetables!"_

" _Not my fault they're so gross-" she tried to protest as Weiss laid a hand on her shoulder, slowly shaking her head._

" _Not the time," she said._

 _Ruby nodded, the message clear, and turned her attention back to the struggle._

" _Yang," Blake said, "can you hold on to her for a minute?"_

" _Yeah! …Why?"_

" _Good. Let one of her arms go."_

 _Yang raised an eyebrow but complied with the odd-sounding request, trusting her partner. As soon as the Faunus Ruby had an arm free she lashed out at her captor._

" _Whatever you have planned, make it quick!" She grunted as the Faunus got in a lucky shot on her face, "This isn't as fun as it looks!"_

 _Blake nodded and tried to grab hold of the girl's arm, succeeding after a couple failed attempts. Once the arm was in her grasp, she quickly positioned the girl's hand over her cat ears._

 _The reaction was immediate; the instant her hand touched, the Faunus Ruby stopped thrashing and stared at Blake, rubbing her ears experimentally. Then she tugged on them, causing Blake to wince briefly._

" _See? It's just like I said; I'm a Faunus." She nodded to Yang, who let the girl go. "No one's going to hurt you."_

" _You… you're r-really a Faunus?" the girl asked, astonished._

" _Yes, I am." Blake drew the girl into a hug, petting her on the head._

…

_/_/_/

The tears began to flow, slowly at first but soon they were a river. Rosey's shirt was starting to get wet. Her throat was beginning to clench.

And the memories continued to play out in her mind.

_/_/_/

…

 _The two girls looked up and saw Rosey shuffling in front of the bed, nervously wringing her hands; RJ was busy loading up a new game._

" _H-h-here's your S-scroll back," she said, handing the device to Blake, "Th-thanks for l-letting me use it…"_

" _Not a problem." Blake accepted the device back. She noticed that the younger Faunus looked slightly apprehensive. "Did you not like that game?" she asked._

" _N-no!" she exclaimed, "I-it was OK, but, u-um… c-can I ask you a question?" When Blake nodded, she asked "C-can I st-stay here? L-like, w-with you?"_

 _Blake blinked at that._

" _I suppose I don't have a problem with that," she said, setting her book down beside her, "If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide that?"_

" _Didn't you say something about your Blake being 'the worst of them all'?" Weiss added._

 _Rosey nodded meekly, "Y-yeah, b-but y-you're nothing l-like her; you're k-kind, and good, a-and friendly, and s-safe, and-" She stopped abruptly, her cheeks suddenly resembling her namesake. "I-it's just… nobody's t-treated me like that s-since… my m-mom…"_

" _Oh…," Blake realized, "…is that so…?"_

…

_/_/_/

The tears continued, now punctuated by gasping sobs. Rosey knew which memory was coming next and she wanted to scream. To do anything she could do to stop it… but it came anyway.

_/_/_/

…

 _Then Blake felt Rosey tug on her shirt again._

" _Yes, sweety?"_

"… _if I-I have to go b-back… th-then I will." The young Faunus fidgeted uncomfortably. "I don't w-want to, b-but it can't be h-helped, I guess…"_

" _Rosey…"_

 _She hugged Blake around her middle, "I-it's OK Blake, I c-can do that thing S-Sister said."_

 _Blake hugged her back._

" _Um, Friend Blake?" Penny spoke up, "I don't mean to intrude, but the energy has begun to steadily increase; I am not sure what will happen if this continues uninterrupted."_

 _Blake looked up at the spell gone awry and saw that in the middle, albeit fairly small, there was a shimmering mirage distortion right in the spot where the Dust crystal had been. She could also see Ruby's cape and Weiss' sidetail flutter ever so slightly in an unseen breeze as the two watched silently._

 _Then she let out the longest, heaviest sigh she'd done in her entire life, nodding._

 _Rosey nodded once back and broke off her hug, going over to Ruby and repeating the gesture. "It was nice t-to meet you," she said, "You're r-really lucky here."_

" _I guess so," Ruby hugged back, "I hope you can make a difference in you own world."_

" _Mhmm!" She then moved on to Weiss, "It was n-nice meeting you too; d-don't worry, you'll get b-better at that Remnant game someday, you'll s-see!"_

 _Weiss resisted the urge to blurt out_ 'Why is everyone better at that game than me?!' _and simply reciprocated the hug. "You just worry about yourself," she said, "don't let anyone look down on you for who you are."_

 _Rosey nodded and moved on to Penny. "S-sorry we didn't spend a l-lot of time together…"_

" _Do not worry about it," Penny assured her, "just meeting you at all was sen-_ sational!"

 _By the time Rosey got to Yang the breeze had picked up enough that it was noticeable in Penny's hair bobs and Yang's scarf. "If m-my sister were here, she'd probably b-be as cool as y-you are."_

" _From what you've said about her, it sounds like she was already pretty cool." She patted the young Faunus on the back, "Don't be afraid to kick a few heads in to achieve your goals, OK?"_

" _I-I'll try!" Rosey promised._

" _Awesome!" Yang flashed her a thumbs up._

 _Finally Rosey was standing in front of Blake again._

" _Th-thank you for being s-so n-nice to me," she said, "you… y-you've been a g-good mom."_

 _Blake hugged Rosey back tightly. "Thank you…," was all she was able to manage with her emotions and her instincts tugging her one way or another all at once._

 _Now the wind was strong enough that Yang had to hold her hair back to keep it out of her face._

" _Not to play the bad guy here, but Rosey needs to go now!" suggested Weiss; she and Ruby were now struggling to hold their combat skirts down._

" _I_ really _don't wanna get blown away!" Ruby wailed, also struggling with her cape and hood as well._

 _With a visibly gargantuan effort Blake detached herself from Rosey and stood back as the young girl headed towards the circle. She passed through the invisible barrier effortlessly, almost immediately dissolving like the others had, feet first._

"… _oh, B-Blake! There's s-something I want to t-tell you!"_

 _All composure instantly evaporated when Blake heard those words. She sprinted over to the barrier, getting as close as she dared without eliciting a shock._

" _I-it's something I never got t-to say before," she continued, walking up to the barrier and placing her hand on the inside. She looked straight at Blake, happy tears spilling from her eyes as she said, without stuttering, "…goodbye, Mom. I love you."_

…

_/_/_/

Rosey lay on the dirty floor of her hut, curled up and wailing into her ragged cloak that was now soaked with her tears. She didn't dare look up again – she didn't want to see this wretched, painful world anymore. This world had taken her family away from her time and time again. She had nothing left but pain. Sorrow. Loneliness.

Blake's face remained firmly in her mind as Rosey drifted to sleep, unable to bear the waking world any longer.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Some time later, the Global Peace Summit began. Every world leader did, indeed, show up in Vale's greater downtown area. The entire district was cordoned off and barricaded for the event. News choppers and vans circled the area like hungry Nevermores, eager for a quick peck at something juicy.

Every town, village, city and district the world over that had access to the CCT was watching the event on TV. Live. Every eye and ear was on Vale.

Even the faunus were watching, mainly because they knew for a fact that this meeting would decide their fate. It was common knowledge that the 'faunus crisis' was the major topic of the summit, and once everyone came to an agreement, that was it. The fate of the faunus would be sealed.

Vale's faunus camp was not very active. The prisoners were either laying around lamenting their dire situation or gathered in the one large building in the area to watch the one tiny-ass TV they were allowed. Cinder had been allowed to join her kind after being released, and the snake woman was right at the front of the crowd to watch.

That being said, no one was seriously keeping watch in the camp. So anyone with good sneaking skills could just… pop right in.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Something jerked Rosey awake. She stretched, still on the dusty floor, and gave a squeaky yawn. Ignoring her still-damp cloak, she stood to her feet and gazed around the room again… and a new package caught her eye. A box wrapped in brown paper.

Mainly due to the cute kitty drawn on the wrapping. In black marker. Blake…?

Ripping it open, Rosey quickly found herself looking at a brand new strawberry red cloak. She pulled it out, marveling at the look and feel of _new._ Why, compared to what she was used to, this was practically a _luxury_ item. She clutched it close to her face and sniffed, taking in the smell of clean for the first time in ages.

But then her eye caught something at the bottom of the box. An old-looking weapon, mostly red with a few gunmetal parts and black to highlight the pattern. Well-worn because it was made with junk that she and Uncle Qrow had gathered from various junkyards around Menagerie while she lived with him there. Still sitting in it's holster, just the way she left it.

Crescent Rose. Her old partner.

_/_/_/

…

" _Wow, kiddo…" Uncle Qrow whistled as he gave the weapon a once-over. "What'd you do, hit it with a Dust bomb?"_

" _Is s-something wrong with it?"_

 _In response, Qrow pointed at several locations all over the weapon; the barrel, stock, loading chamber, even the worn-out blade now showed numerous cracks all over it. Crescent Rose already looked worn out before her journey, but now it looked like a wreck._

" _You said this thing made the trip back before you did, right? I think that's the problem… it wasn't built to handle that kind of stress." The older man had a somber look to him as he folded the weapon up into it's more portable form. "I would give it one more good shot… then it's toast."_

" _C-c-can't you f-fix it Uncle Qrow?" Rosey was worried now, as this was one of the only things she had left of her old life. And memories of her time with Mom were ingrained into it._

" _It would take the luck of the gods to find parts for it, or about as much money as it would take to just buy a new one. Sorry kiddo… there's nothing I can do."_

…

_/_/_/

The frame still displayed the cracks from that day, so long ago. The chamber held one round, an armor-piercing type. High-impact. She'd put it in there when she stored the weapon in a locker on Patch, in case of emergencies.

Picking up the weapon from the box, Rosey blinked as she found yet another item sitting underneath it – a small piece of paper with three words written on it:

 _Keep moving forward._

"…"

Something happened to Rosey in that moment. Something she could not explain. Something she was powerless to stop.

Before she even knew what she was doing, Rosey quickly put her new cloak over her shoulders and pinned it in place. Without thinking, she buckled the holster of Crescent Rose to her waist, just as she did before. The cloak hid the weapon from plain sight. She then flipped the hood over her head, hiding her floppy dog ears from onlookers.

Finally she forced herself to stop, since she was getting scared. Her body wasn't listening to her. Looking around the room again, Rosey tried to think of what was happening – she vaguely recalled something about a meeting – but then…

Then her eyes found something new; light, shining through the cracks of the walls, glowing from the spots in the ceiling, radiating all around her like a cloud of glory. Light, glorious light! It was beautiful. It was radiant. Like nothing she had ever seen before.

And she saw her family; Summer Rose, Taiyang, and Yang. She knew they were watching over her, smiling.

She saw her friends; Weiss, team RWBY from the other world, Cress, RJ, Rubin, Crimson, Sister and Ruvys. They were watching, too.

And she saw her Mom; Blake. She could _feel_ how proud she was. The emotion radiated off of her like the heat of a furnace on a cold winter's night.

And Rosey shed one last tear, this one of pure happiness. Then the tears stopped.

Ruby Rose, a young faunus orphan, closed her eyes… then sat back as she watched her body move on it's own.

Her hand gripped the door handle, opened it, and left her past behind. Left the pain behind. Left the loneliness, the heartache, and sorrow.

It was time to move forward.

…

… … …

… … … … …

The most sensitive of the faunus felt the stirring first, followed shortly after by everyone else. They felt it like a cat feels a disturbance in the wind, like a dog hears frequencies too high for humans to register. None of them knew what it was, yet all felt the pulling.

A girl in a red cloak and hood walked by outside. Everybody followed close behind her. Each step the girl took gathered another faunus, two more, five. Halfway through the camp she had almost two-thirds of the faunus in the city at her heels.

At last she came to the gate. With one motion, the girl drew a weapon from her back, unfolded it with a rusty clunk, aimed and fired in less time than it took to draw two breaths. Onlookers jumped as the gun blew apart in her hands, but kept walking. A sense of wonder was shared by all as _not one_ of the pieces hit anyone, not event the girl holding it.

And the shot was no less impressive – from almost a hundred yards away, she hit the padlock _dead center._

The guards also felt a stirring, but of a different kind. This one made them run away in fear. No one was present at the gate to stop the wave of faunus prisoners as they easily toppled the rusted metal and walked on, heedless of anyone or anything around them. They followed the girl in red.

Those who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the girl's face would attest to seeing the fire of the gods in her eyes. Her expression was a look of purest determination – this was a girl on a mission, and gods help anyone who stood in her way.

Most startling of all, however, was the fact that this mob was not the least bit unruly – no one broke off to start riots or loot stores or cause destruction of any kind, even at the back of the mammoth crowd. They all followed as though caught in a spell.

The wave of faunus made it's way down the wide avenue unchallenged. Most knew not where they were going… but Rosey knew. There was only one place she _could_ go right now.

Forward.

…

… … …

… … … … …

Headmaster Taurus was ready. Not only did he have his speech prepared to incite the leaders of the world to unite in a common cause, but he also was ready to use Belladonna's attacker as an example. He was ready to make that girl a martyr. If she didn't like it, tough.

Most of the pleasantries were already over, and now the man was next up. As the headmaster of Beacon for the last five years, Taurus was well-versed in the politics of the world. He could barter with the best of them. Hell, he actually managed to get Headmaster Khan drunk at a party once, and that was no mean feat.

The speaker introduced him and, giving his cue cards a once-over, Taurus stood to a rousing applause. They loved him. The same people that had once been ready to crucify the racist Belladonna were now singing his praises.

Ironic, really. If they knew how much _he_ hated the faunus, they would probably run scared.

It was Taurus who supported Belladonna's efforts to get the Calmers spread across the world, and it was he who gave every ounce of backup he could anytime she needed it. They were partners with a common goal – wiping out the animals that infest this planet once and for all.

And now, with the world watching, he would convince them to separate the faunus from the humans and 'live without coexisting.' And they would eat it up.

Taurus opened his mouth, looked out into the audience… and his jaw dropped.

The faunus had arrived.

 _All of them._

They walked right into the meeting area like they fucking _owned_ the place, ignoring every single guard and barricade that was designed to stop them. Taurus felt his butt clench as he waited for the inevitable fighting – there was no way this many faunus could simply _walk into a crowd of humans_ and not fight. There was also no way humans would allow it. How many would die before the day was out? There was no way…

And yet… it was happening. Right in front of him.

There must have been hundreds of faunus. _Thousands._ More than he'd ever seen in one place before. And all of them were just standing there, staring at him with eyes of accusation. Almost like they knew what he was up to. The humans of the summit were panicky at first, but once they realized the invaders meant no harm they calmed down. Somewhat. He could also hear the various reporters and newspeople all around him barking into their microphones and headsets. What did the people of the world think of this mess?

As he reached for the microphone on the podium in front of him, hoping to take the lead and restore order, a small hand grabbed it first from out of nowhere. Connected to that hand was a small girl in a red hood and cloak.

"Excuse me," she whispered, "I need to use this."

Against his better judgement, Taurus stepped aside and let her speak. Something about her was familiar, but he didn't know what. Her hood was too deep to allow a clear view of her face.

She took the mic off the podium and walked around, facing the gathered crowd of humans and faunus, as well as cameras that were sending her image all over the world.

And then she spoke:

"My name is Ruby Rose… and I have something to say.

"I understand why most of you are here. You're scared, hurting, afraid of what the future will bring. You fear an entire group of people based on the actions of a misguided few. I know how you feel.

"My father was killed… by people who simply wanted his stuff, and saw no issue with taking his life to get it.

"My mother and my sister were killed… over a triviality. No one tried to stop it. No one helped.

"My best friend was captured and killed… merely to set an example.

"My uncle was murdered… trying to find books so I could learn to read.

"I have lost my entire family to monsters, to those misguided few who make life in this world a living hell. I understand your fear and your pain. I won't tell you how to do your job… all I have to say… is this:"

There was not a blessed sound in the entire city. Everyone was holding dead still as Ruby Rose lowered the mic and used her free hand to pull her hood back from her head – so the muttering and gasping that came from the reveal of her faunus ears was quite clear.

Looking everyone square in the face, she said three words that changed everything.

"… **I forgive you."**

You could have heard a pin drop as Ruby Rose replaced the mic, then put her hood back on and walked down the steps of the stage… and out of the public eye forever.

…

…

…

…

…

"What made you give her weapon back?"

"I… I dunno. Something about it just felt right."

"And she just passed out like that? Right after such a rousing speech?"

"Rosey… you did good, kid."

"Everything will change now. Rosey told me once, after coming home from her adventure, that she wanted to use what she'd learned to change the world. It seems she finally did that.

"We should probably take her back…"

"Blake, wait… I think you should take her with _you_ , actually."

"Ozpin, I don't think that's a good idea…"

"Letting her stay would be far worse. Think about it – she just gave a speech that the entire world saw. Like it or not, she is now a _world-wide_ celebrity."

"…Oof."

"I would not wish such a life on my worst enemy. And I know she means a lot to you, and you to her. Please, Blake… she needs this."

"… … …We _were_ reading some books together…"

"I've already taken the liberty of picking them up. Here."

*sigh* "Always prepared, aren't you?"

"You might be surprised."

"I doubt that. Well, if you insist then there's no point in hanging around here any longer. Ozpin, take care of yourself. And Cinder, too… I know she needs some company."

"Oobleck will see to that."

"Is _that_ why you went looking for him?"

"No need to put it so bluntly…"

"Okay, so… mmm… hey, could you… I need a hand with my scroll… carrying Rosey and holding the scroll at the same time is harder than it looks."

"Of course. Take care of her, my friend."

"I will. Oh, and Oz?"

"Yes?"

"…What kind of a faunus _are_ you, anyway?"

"… … …"

"Oh. Well… that fits."

"Fare you well, Blake Belladonna."

\\_/

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The world was changed that day.

The subject of the talks was immediately changed – no longer what should 'be done' with the faunus, now they wanted real peace talks. Something about those words, _I forgive you,_ reverberated in the hearts and minds of everyone who heard them. Everyone.

If a little faunus girl could suffer so much and still find it in her heart to forgive those who wronged her, then why can't we?

Adam Taurus, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, stepped down suddenly one month after the summit. He claimed failing health as his reason.

In his absence, the school voted to bring in a new headmaster. In an effort to reflect the changing times and culture, they elected the first ever faunus headmaster: Ozpin.

Other changes came just as rapidly and just as suddenly. Stores and shops that previously did no business with faunus suddenly threw their doors open and welcomed them in. Schools and restaurants that used to kick them out now invited them. The world's attitude seemed to change over night. It was nothing short of miraculous.

The faunus were affected as well. After all, Ruby Rose could forgive the humans… so why not everyone else? Faunus all around the world who were once dedicated haters of humanity now found a new tolerance and compassion. It was beyond anyone's ability to understand.

One year after the summit, the world was completely different. So completely, in fact, that Headmaster Ozpin barely recognized it from his office window. The morning sun brought with it the hope of a new day. He stretched, letting his bird wings finally stretch free after keeping them tucked under his coat for so long. They ached for a good flight.

Still, he was thankful he had sent Rosey away with Blake that day. His predictions were right – the world practically _deified_ the poor thing. Statues in her honor were quickly erected in every major city, each with her famous quote chiseled into the base: _I forgive you._

And the world, in turn, remembered how to forgive others. Hmm… maybe they were right to consider her some kind of prophet?

"Headmaster?" a careful voice asked from the office doors. "Your new student is here…" His new secretary had doe ears on her head, but Glynda Goodwitch also had a fire in her eyes. If he worked at it, Ozpin was confident he could turn her into a powerful ally.

"Send him in," Ozpin replied, taking his seat and waiting.

The young man who entered looked around in awe, a look still common to faunus unused to life in the big city. His eyes swept all around, glittering beneath his mop of dark brown hair with small dog ears at the top, like a rottweiler. He would be the first ever faunus admitted as a student at a Huntsman Academy.

The color of his eyes, however, was the first thing Ozpin noticed.

"You…" he said carefully, "…have silver eyes."

…

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… … … … …

 _What About Roman and Neo…?_

…

For the first time since starting this nonsense trip, the criminal duo were finally willing to sit still for quite a long time.

And for good reason; there was quite a show going on in the room next to them.

They had appeared several hours ago back in Beacon… again… but this time they appeared to be in an unused rec room of some kind. It was empty and the door was locked, so Roman was reasonably sure they would remain undiscovered.

But then they heard That Damned Kid and her friends playing in the next room over… and good _gods_ was it funny to listen to.

Suddenly one of the boys began yelling loud enough to cancel out the meager soundproofing they had put up a while ago. Roman and Neo both heard the words clear as day.

" _PREPARE TO WITNESS THE SWOOPING TECHNIQUE THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE ARC LINE FOR GENERATIONS."_

Oh gods… they'd been hearing stuff like that all night. Roman was ready to pee his pants from holding his laughter in so hard. Neo was rolling across the floor next to him, breathless.

" _PREPARE TO WITNESS THE AGRICULTURE TECHNIQUE THE HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE ARC LINE FOR GENERATIONS."_

This was getting to be too much… but they stayed anyway. This was fucking _gold._

They would remain in that room, laughing their asses off, until the room next door eventually quieted down. And before they finally left, Roman made a mental note to find that damned card game when they finally got home – it sounded like an awesome way to die.

Because Cinder would totally kill him for having it.

…Or she would love it.

Not sure which would be worse.

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* * *

 **Author's Note: *takes a bow* Thank you, thank you…**

 **Okay, I have to say that this was a fun chapter. Fun for me, anyway. Lots of love to The Layman for letting me use Rosey here – and if you guys don't know, the story I pulled her from is called** _ **Distorted Mirror Images.**_ **Search it, read it, love it. :3**

 **Next time… we get to find out just who Primrose is supposed to be. Later!**

 _(Credits: Cards Against Remnant written by RexHeller)_

 **=^w^=**

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 **On a serious note, my marriage is now pretty much over. If any of you out there are the praying type, please pray for me. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself (but don't worry, I'm not suicidal… yet…).**


	34. SOJOURN: Titan Dream (pt1)

**Quick note: Sorry for the delay, my brain refuses to let me focus on** _ **any**_ **of my stories right now. And I suppose that my recent gallbladder surgery doesn't help much (but the** _ **paaaaaainkilleeeeeeers… wheeeee!)**_

 **I'm fine, by the way. :)**

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 _The dreams were never the same twice, but they always featured the same characters – a girl with cat ears, a busty blonde, and a rich girl. She always knew them in the dream, but could never remember their names when it was over._

…

 _Each dream featured a day or two in their lives, each journey a trip down a lane of memories that did not belong to her. Faces she recognized, but didn't know. Names that hovered just out of reach._

…

 _At times her dreams returned to that strange place where they spoke another language. She saw the same characters in different roles, along with a few new ones. The dead regent, the tall one-eyed stranger… people who stirred a new feeling within her. A feeling of coming dread._

…

 _Most of the time, however, she was at that school for warriors. Events played out there that carried a weight of importance. Things that she felt she did not deserve to witness. Love… loss… and battles that shaped worlds._

…

 _And every morning, without fail, the same words escaped her lips whenever she awoke…_

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_/_/_/_/_/

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"I am Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY… and I will remember…"

Prim slowly pulled herself upright in bed, once again awake a full hour before the alarm. "The hell… again?" she muttered as she glared at the treacherous numbers. She rubbed her forehead with one hand while adjusting the sheets with the other, irritated at her constant state of fatigue.

Ever since that first dream of Ruby Rose almost a month ago, Prim had been feeling less and less like herself.

And the poor sleeping habits were just one part of that – as time marched on, Prim had constantly found herself with sore muscles and aching joints that had nothing to do with the training she took part in during the day – _that_ work was nowhere near hard enough to cause soreness. There was no way to tell what was happening to her, and the academy medics were also at a loss. All they could do was perscribe sleep aids, which only made things worse.

There was also her new and rampant emotional outbursts – Prim was normally a very reserved and introverted young girl, but ever since her dreams of Ruby Rose had started… well, things were changing. She would yelp out loud with surprise if something startled her (which she never used to do) and would find herself getting over-excited over the most mundane things.

At this point, Prim's only saving grace was the fact that none of these issues were affecting her training in a negative way. Yet.

"Numm… mhm…" Val mumbled in her sleep, turning over once on the adjacent bed. Prim glanced over at her and wondered how long it would be before the taller girl got herself up – Val was the one who was supposed to beat the alarm in the mornings, not her. It wasn't fair.

Moving slowly, Prim climbed out of bed and made her way to the desk where her journal lay waiting. Ever since she told Doctor Noah about her dreams a few days after they started, the older man suggested keeping a journal that detailed everything she could remember about them each time she had one. It was almost full already.

Using the small desk lamp, Prim now entered the details of her latest vision:

" _Dreamed again – this time I was in a large forest of red leaves. Rich Girl was there, along with a new face, a girl with long, bright-red hair. We watched a blonde boy fight a big bear-monster and kill it with a sword. There was something about magnetism and keeping a secret, but I don't remember everything I heard. The event was short, but it seemed to be really important for some reason."_

After a moment of thought, Prim's pen seemed to move on it's own as she added a few final words.

" _Also, the boy's name is Jaune."_

She blinked at those words. Even with what she _did_ remember from the dream, there was no mention of his or any name. Why did she know it? And where did that thought even come from?

What the hell was happening to her?

Sighing deeply, Primrose switched off the desk lamp and sat back in her chair in the darkness of her shared room. So many questions… but Val was starting to wake up, so no more time to dwell on them. The day had to start eventually.

The Captian was going to give them all some kind of big announcement today, and Prim wanted to make sure she was good and ready. Neither trainee spoke to each other this time, as Val also had this in mind as she prepared herself. They each got dressed and headed to breakfast together in companionable silence.

Prim really didn't want to admit it, but she was also looking forward to the meal… because they served strawberries every day.

And she _never_ used to like strawberries.

Truly strange.

…

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… … … … …

 **Chapter 34:** _  
_ **Sojourn – Book 2**

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 **Titan Dream**

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The Lunar Academy was not actually based on the moon as it's name would suggest, but in a geostationary orbit around it. Each major part of the station was connected to the others by wide tubes that allowed quick and easy transport between them. Dormitories had their own unit, as well as general training, mechanical training, and the actual hangers for the vehicles. Around the outside of the facilities was a massive course designed to help them learn to pilot their vehicles more efficiently.

The mission of the Academy was to train the next generation of pilots for the Titans, which was the proper name for their vehicles. Prim never cared about names. In fact, she didn't care much for the clunky things to begin with. They were _fighting_ machines, and she hated fighting.

A Titan was a simple machine in design, yet surprisingly complex with it's technology. Every student of the academy was required to not only know the ins and outs of all those systems, but also to know their own personal vehicle's inner workings better than anyone. Prim happened to be good with machines, so that wasn't a hard thing to figure out. She had her own machine figured out within the first week and spent much of her free time helping the other trainees figure theirs out.

However, only a month after beginning her training, Prim and the others were given a shock – a new model Titan was being brought in, and one of _them_ was going to be in charge of it. This was the big announcement they had been waiting for.

And every single person present during that announcement was thoroughly surprised to see Prim's hand shoot up to volunteer… Prim herself included, as her hand had moved on it's own. And she couldn't pull it back down.

 _Shit._ So much for 'no negative impact.'

…

"Hey, Prim?"

"…Hmm?"

"I've been doing some research, and I think I have some answers for you. The soreness you mentioned? I think I know where it's coming from now."

"… … …I'm listening, Val."

"Well, after you mentioned it the first time I decided to try staying awake through the night to keep an eye on you… and it payed off. You're kind of a sleepwalker."

"Sleep… walker?"

"Not only that, but after you stood up out of bed you started going through these… weird martial-arts looking routines. They looked familiar, like from a Kung-Fu movie, so I took the liberty of looking up what kind of style it might have been. Here's what I found."

"… … …How do you even pronounce that name?"

"Beats me, but it looks Chinese. Based on what I saw, every move you made was a perfect match to this style. It was almost like you had studied it in a past life or something…"

"… … … … … …My God…"

"Prim? You okay?"

"Is Doctor Noah awake right now? I think I need to talk to him again…"

"He should still be up, but probably not much longer. We've all got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, you know… _you_ most of all, Miss Pilot-of-the-New-Machine. Why'd you volunteer, anyway?"

"I didn't _want_ to, I'll have you know… I feel like I'm starting to lose my mind."

"Ah, Space Fever. I've heard that can happen to some people who stay out of the colonies too long. Something to do with electronic gravity systems versus the more natural artifical ones back home."

"I hope to _God_ that's all it is."

"Well, make that call then get some rest, I'm going to bed. Good night, Prim."

"Night, Val."

…

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… … … … …

The standard model Titans used for training were no different to the ones used in the field, except that they had no weapons (A few mock rifles were available for use in the training runs, but none fired live ammunition). The overall frame was blocky and not very shapely, mainly for practicality over aesthetics. Also for ease of repairs – the quicker the pilots could reach a problem area, the quicker they could get their Titans back up and running.

This new model was an entirely different beast.

Redesigned from the ground up, the Mark-17 more closely resembled the old giant robot cartoons Prim used to watch as a kid – in a word, it looked _cool._ The main feature was an experimental gravity-control unit mounted to the thing's back, shaped like a massive ring that appeared to encircle the head unit of the machine itself, almost like a vertical halo. According to the engineers, this ring glowed faintly in the unit's flight mode. It also featured twin arm-mounted curved blades in a similar style to the ring, but used in melee combat.

Even though it was just a prototype unit, Prim was still given the technical manual and a very, _very_ thorough debreifing on everything she was to expect from using it… and this is where she learned the single biggest difference between the Mark-17 and every other Titan so far.

The old Titans were piloted by a person sitting in a chair and moving levers and buttons while looking at screens.

The Mark-17 used a brand-new interface that directly connected the pilot's body to the motions of the machine. As the pilot moved, the Mark-17 emulated. This was to allow far better control in the heat of combat.

In short, _the pilot was the literal brain of the Titan._

Many months followed in which Prim was inside the Mark-17 longer than she was out of it. The captain and other officers of the academy were unsure about how well she would fare at first, but they soon gave her their full support. Prim soon became something of a celebrity in the academy. At her insistence, the unit was given a gaudy red-and-black paint job (which she hoped would make it look too ugly to like – unfortunately, this just made it even more popular).

When asked if she would give it a nickname, Prim opened her mouth to say 'no' …but the words _'Crescent Rose'_ popped out instead. Everyone loved the name, including her Captain and the Admiral.

Everyone but herself, that is. Prim was quickly off to see the Doctor. This was getting out of hand, and she knew it wouldn't be long before these issues came back to bite her in the ass.

…

"Miss Prim, how are you feeling today?"

"Other than losing my marbles? No real change, Doctor."

"That's… good, I suppose. It seems like your body is managing to adjust to the new Titan motor systems without issue. The higher-ups have great expectations for this _Crescent Rose_ of yours."

"What about… the other thing? Do I really have Space Fever?"

"I can safely say 'no' to Space Fever."

"Then… what's wrong with me?"

"Miss Prim, I honestly don't know. After taking various scans of your brain activity, I found something very small, an anomoly if you will. That's why I had you come in last night and have another scan while you slept."

"…And?"

"Your subconcious brain waves have been shifting… if I may be so bold as to use a few un-scientific words, you become another person while you're asleep."

"…!"

"And that other person had no interest in sleep during the test. I know… because I spoke with her."

"…Did she call herself Ruby Rose?"

"… … …Yes."

" _Shiiiiiiiiit_. Just like from my dreams…"

"I'd like to run these scans more often, if you're alright with coming in here at least once a week for a proper sleep test. You say she appears in your dreams, but nowhere else?"

"Sometimes I'm not so sure…"

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since these dreams started, I've noticed moments where my body acts without my permission… like when I volunteered to pilot the Mark-17."

"You think it might be her? Ruby Rose?"

" _God_ , I hope not…"

"This could be serious, then. Normally I would pull you from training to get this worked out, but then Admiral Ray would be up my ass about keeping the famous Primrose away from her toy. All I can recommend is that you do everything in your power to maintain control of yourself… _especially_ while you're piloting _Crescent Rose_."

"Because if Ruby Rose should force me to move while I'm connected…"

"…There could be big trouble."

"Understood. Thank you, Doctor Noah."

"I'll see if Captain Bidan can work out a short break for you soon. Take care of yourself, Primrose."

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… … … … …

It was here that Prim had an idea: if this Ruby Rose person was stuck in her head, could there by a way for them to …talk? Or communicate in some form? It might not get the intruder to _leave,_ but if nothing else, it would be good to get some form of cooperation from the stranger. If she was capable of taking control of Prim's body every so often, then it was paramount that the young trainee put a stop to it.

The problem was that if Ruby Rose only existed while Prim was asleep, then she would have to leave a message behind – so the answer was simple.

Prim just had to write a letter.

And so, one week after learning for certain that a dream girl called Ruby Rose lived in her head, Primrose wrote a letter and left it on her desk overnight:

…

' _To Ruby Rose,_

' _I have no idea how much you know about me, but I have no real idea who you are (other than the little I can recal from those dreams) nor why you are in my head. If you happen to be stuck with me by accident, then I'm sorry… but if you're here intentionally, then I'll have to ask you to leave. My future and the future of my entire colony depends on me finishing my training, and your interference is putting everything in jeopardy._

' _If you happen to be a ghost… then is there anything I can do to help you pass on? Any unfinished business I can help you complete?_

' _Sorry… I really don't know what else to say, here. I've never had another person stuck in my head before._

' _-Primrose'_

…

The next morning, Prim found a second letter sitting next to hers… and the handwriting on it was neither her own, nor Val's (that one had a hard time writing anything legible).

…

' _To Primrose,_

' _Hey, neat idea! I hadn't thought of writing letters like this!_

' _I'm sorry to break it to you, but I don't know why I'm here any more than you do. And you mentioned dreams, so I guess that means we're in the same boat – I'm awake while you're asleep, and when I dream, I see your memories. At least, I think that's what they are. I'm not a ghost, but… man, I wish I could tell you more, but I don't even know everything._

' _Now, I'll be perfectly honest… if I AM taking control of your body, then I have no idea I'm doing it. All I know between my dreams and waking up as you in the middle of the night is that occasionally I see what you see during the day, and sometimes I end up reacting during those events – if that reaction carries over, then I am so, so sorry!_

' _Also… it may be too soon, but… if there's ANY way you could, I dunno… let me try out that awesome robot-thingy… that would be BEYOND cool! We switch when you fall asleep, right?_

' _-Ruby Rose_

…

At that last line, Prim could only scoff. Dream on, Ruby Rose.

Still, this was a promising start. After thinking she was being genuinely haunted, it turns out Ruby Rose is just a scared and confused girl who has no idea where she is. This could turn out alright. Was it strange to think that the two of them might even become… friends?

Doctor Noah was quickly informed of their exchange and immedietly encouraged her to continue these letters… but also to keep them out of sight. Anything that could call Prim's mental health into question would be rather dangerous to leave lying around.

In the weeks that followed, Prim's demeanor improved considerably – her soreness slowly began to recede (since Ruby agreed to cut down on the late night practices), her mood lifted, and even Val noted how much better she seemed to be feeling.

Yet every morning still found Prim awakening with those same words on her lips…

' _I am Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY, and I will remember.'_

But now she understood a little better where that came from.

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"Run that by me again, lieutenant…?"

"Sir, we… we have detected an unidentified craft approaching from the orbit of Neptune and moving at a very high velocity. We estimate that it will reach our location in approximately one year."

"One year? From _Neptune?"_

"Are you certain it's a craft? Could it be a meteor?"

"No sir, all of our scanners detected an active propulsion system. Whatever it is, it's heading right for us."

"Thank you, lieutenant. Dismissed."

"Sir."

"That was… sooner than I anticipated."

"Well, Admiral? Do you think it's hostile?"

"You all know I have no choice but to consider it a threat. The safety and security of the human race is at stake. We stand on the edge of the abyss, and my fleet is the only shield to keep us alive."

"Assuming we delay public access to this news for as long as possible, I think our best course of action would be to continue gathering our forces as normal for the first six months, then spend the next six putting together a more organized response."

"I agree. One year is plenty of time."

"And if …they suddenly decide to pick up the pace? What then?"

"We'll address that issue if it comes up, Captain."

"With all due respect, I think I'll work on my own contingency plan… I know of no rules or laws against that, do you?"

"I suppose not… but there's really no need."

"I'll be the judge of that. Good day, gentlemen."

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 **[ Continued in Next Chapter ]**

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 **A/N: Okay, so… uh… words. Painkillers. Whee.**

 **As much as I'd like to pull this one off in only two parts, it'll likely stretch to three. I still don't have a solid idea of what to do with this one yet, so hold tight… we're in this together. This one might end up feeling a bit rushed, but that's only because I want to get to the next intermission chapter soon – big things are afoot.**

 ***voice at the door*** _ **"Are you on the Happy Pills again?"**_

 ***me* KHAJIIT STOLE NOTHING! KHAJIIT IS INNOCENT OF THIS CRIME!**

 **=^w^=**


	35. SOJOURN: Titan Dream (pt2)

**Author's Note: Massive shout out to Obsequium Minaris for that epic review. Thank you very much – people like you make this hobby worthwhile. I always enjoy reading the feedback from you guys. In fact, I wanna say thank you to** _ **everyone**_ **who bothered to drop a review – you guys rock. :)**

 **On another note, truly sorry for taking so long… I guess I'm trying too hard to get this stupid thing just** _ **right,**_ **and I fail to just WRITE. (Does that count as a writing pun?)**

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 _Mother smiled at them, her face tired and sagging from the years of hard labor she'd endured to get them this far. She could tell that Mother did not have many more years of work left in her… but that was why Prim had gotten a job as Mother's assistant at the factory._

 _Prim stood taller than her, almost a foot, as she set the table for their evening meal. There wasn't much, but she was still grateful for it. Many families in colony FC517 had almost nothing to eat. Mother sat at the head of the table and patiently waited for her to bring the food over from the kitchen._

 _She pulled the roasted bird from the oven carefully, but almost dropped it – Prim saved them both, as well as dinner. Mother gave them a light clap._

" _That was a close one, Katrin," Mother said kindly. Prim relieved her of the burden and ruffled her hair with a grin._

 _She hated having her hair ruffled, but said nothing as she sat down for the meal._

 _It was another boring dinner, on a boring colony, in the middle of a boring life… but she wouldn't have it any other way. She loved Mother and Prim, her big sister and best friend in the world. If the price of peace was a boring life, then so be it…_

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 **Chapter 35:** _  
_ **Titan Dream (part 2)**

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Ruby Rose once again awoke to a darkened room with a snoozing roommate.

Emphasis on the word 'again.'

While her situation was far better than it had been back in the land of _Nippon,_ Ruby missed interacting with actual humans. The fact that she was only in control of this new body while the owner was asleep was… less than amusing.

She carefully sat up in the bed, taking in the room at a glance to see if there was anything for her – specifically, another letter on the desk – but there was nothing tonight. Sighing, Ruby quietly stood up and made for the bathroom.

Ruby and Primrose, the true owner of this body, had been exchanging letters for about a month. At least, Ruby guessed it had been that long. Only being aware of herself during sleeping hours had a way of distorting her perception of time. Prim had enlightened her on several topics by this point, not the least of which was the fact that they were _out in space right now!_

Last Ruby checked, that was supposed to be impossible. Dust wasn't supposed to function outside of the atmosphere.

That could only mean the people of this world used a fuel source different from Dust. And Ruby really wanted to know what that was.

All in good time, though. She hadn't even been here that long yet.

Once she was inside the tiny bathroom with the door shut, Ruby flicked on the light and once again examined her new face in the mirror. Prim's face. She was still trying to get used to it, even now.

Unlike Aki, her previous host (was that even the right word?), Prim's hair was totally straight and colored a deep brown. Her face was also closer to Ruby's own face, albeit a bit more round-ish. Prim's body was also closer to Ruby's, but notably smaller in the chest and hips. By her best guess, Prim was about the size of a 14-year-old… although her ID claimed she was 17.

Like Aki, however, those silver eyes were exactly the same.

That was… oddly comforting.

Ruby switched the light back off and returned to the main room just in time to see Val, the roommate, turn over with a grunt. And she had to remind herself again that this girl was _not_ Nora Valkyrie, despite the startling similarities. Not even Ren could have spotted the difference, especially in the dark like this.

Rather than return to bed (because she _just_ freaking woke up), Ruby sat down on the floor next to the desk, crossed her legs and ran through a few meditations Master Oum had taught her during their time together. They were perfect for passing the time when Ruby couldn't even leave the room.

For the most part, anyway. Ruby's left leg had a habit of twitching during these meditations, no matter how hard she tried to still it.

"…"

As Ruby sat there in the darkness, slowing her breathing and trying to focus her mind, she thought about everything she and Prim had discussed in their letters so far.

Prim was from a 'colony' that had taken damage during one of their last big wars, though she didn't go into too much detail concerning that part. Apparently this 'Lunar Academy' had put out the call for new recruits to join their army of sorts – Ruby had to request a few definitions for some of the words Prim used. Like these 'Titan' things.

Twice now Ruby had experienced a dream-event of piloting the machine Prim had dubbed 'Crescent Rose.' And she seriously hoped another would come soon. That thing was just… _so cool._

Other dreams had occurred in between – dreams of a life of poverty and hardship. Dreams of living in a place where the ground curved the wrong way… like the inside of a tube. That last dream-memory was one of those.

But… 'Prim' was a character in that dream, but not _her._

Mother had called her by another name… Katrin.

What could that mean?

Ruby uncrossed her legs and made her way to the desk, tore off a sheet of paper from the pad and grabbed a pen:

' _To Prim –_

' _While you were awake yesterday, I saw another dream-memory. I recognized your Mother and the place you lived, but there was someone else there this time. Someone you referred to as 'Prim' and as a 'big sister.' And Mother called you Katrin._

' _I don't mean to pry, but what was that about? I thought_ you _were Prim. I'm sorry if I'm touching any sensitive issues here, but I was just curious._

'– _Ruby'_

…

_/_/_/_/_/

…

 _The Captain clasped his hands behind his back as he watched her quietly, his light-brown eyes studying her. He seemed to be looking right through her. She tried to stand as still as possible, but she hated standing 'at attention' like this. It was what soldiers did, and she was no soldier._

" _As you may recall," he said in a clear and crisp voice, carefully choosing each word, "we have been gathering our forces here for quite some time. Not as openly as a draft, but enough to start rumors. Well, allow me to put any doubt to rest – something_ is _coming."_

 _Her mouth suddenly went dry._

" _We don't yet know_ what _it is, but we now have a timeframe. My superiors are confident that this… thing will stick to that timeframe. I believe they are fools. We've known about this thing's approach for a long time now, and there's no telling what will happen once it gets here. That's where you come in…"_

 _A fine layer of sweat now covered her entire body. Her tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of her mouth._

" _Truth be told, I had the Mark-17 brought here as more of a gimmick… but the results you've achieved with it have proven how capable a machine it truly is. And how capable a pilot_ you _are, despite your lack of battlefield experience. Therefore I have decided to send you out with a squadron of my best Titan pilots to intercept this…_ thing _before it gets here. Find it, study it, ascertain its threat level… and destroy it if need be."_

 _It took everything she had to not pass out at those words._

" _I did not come to this decision lightly – I'm aware that this is the most dangerous sort of mission I could send hardened soldiers on, much less a trainee. That is why I will be personally training you for the next month in preparation for what lies ahead. You may be a child now, but you will leave here… as a soldier."_

…

_/_/_/_/_/

…

Ruby sat up slowly, her brow covered in sweat. She didn't normally feel such intense fear during a dream, but man… that one was rough.

She knew it was a dream-memory, but she had first seen that meeting _as it was happening_ – what she called a dream-event. She and Prim had watched it happen together. She'd seen a few dream-events like this so far, but not many. That particular one had occurred about twice before. By her best guess, it probably happened about two weeks ago.

The Captain, as Prim thought of him, was certainly an intense man. And this mysterious 'thing' that was coming… Ruby was certainly curious about it, but there was no option but to wait. If she was going to find out anything, it would have to be through these dreams.

There had been no letters for a few days, ever since Ruby had mentioned the name Katrin in her previous one; the next evening had found Ruby with another letter, but the tone and handwriting Prim used gave Ruby the impression that she had stepped on a land mine:

' _To Ruby –_

' _Don't ever use that name again. Ever._

'– _Prim'_

Well… that was certainly straight to the point. No more letters followed, and Ruby started to wonder just what she had said to offend her mental roommate. Just who _was_ this Katrin?

She sighed as she stood up from the bed, unsurprised to see the desk empty once again. Ruby started the process of stretching as many muscles as she could, then quietly began going through her forms. It was the designated day of the week, and she was not about to miss it.

That was one of the first things they agreed on – no more excessive late-night workouts. Ruby agreed to keep it down to one night a week, but no less.

As she went through each form, her body remembering things her mind had learned in another life, Ruby thought back to the events that led her here. She did that every time she reviewed her routines like this. All of Master Oum's techniques were good for focusing the mind, whether sitting or standing.

The day she met the first look-alike of many, called Carmine, seemed like a lifetime ago now. She and the rest of her team soon found themselves neck-deep in look-alikes from other worlds. It was a mess, but it was somewhat fun as well. How many people could claim to have met a version of themselves from an alternate reality? It was a blast to find out the various ways Ruby herself could have ended up different.

That is, until Ku's death. Ruby still shuddered every time she remembered that massive fireball that took the life of the adult-child. And Rain's emotionless stare right after.

Rain… Carmine… and Red, Rose and Sapphire… how were they all doing?

…

_/_/_/_/_/

…

 _The factory lay in ruins. Everything was a wreck. Fire was busy consuming everything that hadn't been turned to rubble._

 _She knew Mother had been caught in the blast, so there was no point in searching for her. Not enough left to find, much less bury. Prim was still alive, but just by a hair. She clutched her sister's hand desperately, willing the older girl to stay alive._

" _Katrin…" Prim coughed, her mouth leaking blood, "…I'm sorry. I can't keep… my promise…"_

 _She couldn't respond to that. Her throat had locked up. She was crying, too._

" _Find Jude… he's a friend, and he… he can take care of you… Katrin…" Prim coughed again, a large amount of blood coming out of her mouth as the last of her life force slipped away._

"… _I love you, sis."_

…

_/_/_/_/_/

…

The pillow was damp with tears as Ruby awoke this time, the image of the older 'Prim' still burned into her mind. The one who was supposedly the older sister. It looked like some kind of explosion at the factory that Mother and 'Prim' worked at, but she couldn't be sure. An accident, perhaps?

Such intense emotions. That had to be one of Prim's most important memories, and Ruby made a point to remember it.

Jude; that was a young man Ruby had seen in a few of Prim's other dream-memories. He played a role in taking care of Prim, and even had a hand in getting the girl enrolled in the Lunar Academy… though Ruby couldn't remember _how._ Most of these dream-memories played out of order.

Man… Getting small bits of Prim's past one-by-one was like trying ot solve a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle without having any idea what the final picture was supposed to be. Mind-numbing… yet still fascinating to watch unfold.

There was no letter waiting for her once again, so Ruby simply went into her meditations. This time both of her legs started twitching, and the teenager simply _knew_ that she could only handle this for so much longer… cabin fever was going to catch up with her sooner or later.

Hopefully something would change before she simply snapped and started running down the halls with no pants on.

…

_/_/_/_/_/

…

"… … … _chamber is used for long voyages. You'll need to be in a state of hypersleep during the trip, otherwise you'll experience debilitating effects on your health and… … …"_

…

"… … … _is Sargent Yui. He'll be in charge of the squad during your mission. Anything he says, you do. Over there is Maxwell, Barton, Winner and… … …"_

…

"… … … _mission begins tomorrow, right? I'm sure you'll want to say goodbye to your friends, but remember to keep it low profile. Get some rest, Prim… … …"_

…

_/_/_/_/_/

…

Ruby sat up more quickly than before, a clear sense of excitement filling her mind. Something was finally about to happen, and soon. As long as it meant getting out of this twice-damned room then she was more than ready.

Her mood lifted further upon finding another letter waiting for her on the desk, this one a bit longer than normal. Flicking the desk light on, Ruby sat down and started reading:

' _To Ruby –_

' _Sorry for not writing to you recently, but things have been kind of crazy. I'm actually being sent on a mission tomorrow, but the details are supposed to be secret – I suspect you know at least a little of what I'm talking about. I have no idea how this will affect our…_ situation _… but Doctor Noah says we should be fine. No idea how the hypersleep will work, though._

' _And regarding my outburst last time… sorry. I'll find a way to explain more later. Writing it all down like this is a bit risky, as anyone could find it. What I will say is this: my family is dead and I am an orphan. A mutual friend helped me get through the trauma and helped enroll me in the Lunar Academy. After that came… well… you._

' _I assume we'll have more time to discuss things later… assuming nothing goes wrong during the mission. I must say, though, that the memories I'm getting from you are certainly interesting. If you don't mind, I'd love to know more about this… Dust, you call it? We have time for one more letter, so… please?_

'– _Prim'_

' _P.S. – If you could, please tear up this letter when you're done with it and flush the pieces down the toilet.'_

Ruby blinked at the last line. And at the letter as a whole. It almost felt like Prim's tone was… more relaxed towards the end. Almost like she was finally starting to open up. Interesting.

Unfortunately, her request would be rather difficult to meet. All Ruby was able to scribble down was the stuff they taught her regarding Dust at Signal and Beacon – no one knew what it _actually_ was, let alone how it really worked. Hopefully that would satisfy her.

Scanning over Prim's letter one more time, Ruby did as instructed and tore it up (quietly). She then made her way to the bathroom and disposed of the evidence.

Upon returning, she was met with a surprise – a pair of intense blue-green eyes watching her from beneath a mop of ginger hair. Val was awake and sitting upright on her bed.

"You're the one called Ruby Rose… right? Not Prim?" Even her voice was the same as Nora's. Creepy.

"Y-yeah," Ruby replied nervously. "You know about me?"

"Not a lot, but yeah. I'm kind of a snoop." Val didn't bother standing up as she continued to study Ruby. Her smirk helped lift the tension a little. "Don't tell Prim, but… I kinda read a few of those letters."

Ruby crossed her arms and mirrored Val's smirk, musing, "Where I'm from we call that _meddling."_

Val's smirk spread into a full Nora-grin as she admitted, "…Guilty."

Both girls chuckled for a moment. Ruby's nervousness was starting to fade around the second person in this world she'd had the chance to talk to – that Doctor from before was nice enough, but this was different. Less formal.

"So anyway," the Nora look-alike interrupted Ruby's thoughts, "I assume Prim told you about her mission tomorrow?"

"For the most part, yes," Ruby nodded towards the bathroom, "It was in the letter she wanted me to get rid of."

"That sounds like her. I figured I might not get another chance to say this before you go, so I stayed awake. Ruby Rose, I… I have a request."

Neither girl was smirking now. Things were getting serious.

"Could you… make sure Prim gets back safe and sound …please? I know she's faced a lot of hard times here and she'd probably be fine if she never came back, but… She's important to me. She's my friend."

Ruby blinked at the surprisingly serious tone of the girl before her. She didn't even think Nora knew _how_ to be serious, never mind an alternate-reality version of her.

"Please?"

Ruby did a quick mental check before responding, making sure she used the right name, "Of course, Val. I'll do everything I can to bring us _both_ back. After all, I'm… kinda stuck with her."

Val's face broke into a warm smile as she sighed, "Thank you… that means a lot to me." The ginger-haired girl stood up from the bed to give Ruby a gentle hug, which Ruby gave right back. She was struck by how _tall_ Val was compared to her – back home, Nora was only a little taller than Ruby.

But then Val had to ruin the mood by ruffling Ruby's hair, "I'm going back to sleep. G'night kiddo." Her smirk was back. Ruby growled as she swatted the hand away, causing Val to just giggle lightly.

"Hey Val…" Ruby said quickly, the thought only now occurring to her, "…does the name Katrin mean anything to you?"

Val was halfway under the sheets when she paused, a look of concentration on her face. "Um… I think so. If I remember correctly, Prim told me that was her little sister's name. Apparently both she and her mother were killed in an accident back on her home colony a few years ago."

Ruby considered for a moment, then nodded, "That makes sense. Thanks."

"No… *yawn* …problem." Val returned to the land of dreams rapidly once she was settled, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts once again.

"…"

This was getting strange.

Prim… Katrin… Mother… Jude… Just who were these people, anyway? What was their true relationship to each other?

Ruby returned to her meditation, hoping to relax enough to give Prim the rest she needed for tomorrow. If there were more answers to be had, maybe they would be in her next dream.

…

… … …

… … … … …

\… … …/

\… …/

\…/

…

…

 _Well… this is different. Not dreams, just… blackness?_

[ What the… who are you? Where are we? ]

 _Me? Who are YOU?_

[ … …Ruby Rose? Is that you? ]

 _Umm… yes? What's going on here…?_

[ This must be due to the hypersleep. Damn. I'm supposed to be unconscious. They said it would take a full month to catch the vessel, so we were supposed to simply sleep it off… so why am I talking to you all of a sudden? ]

 _No need to sound so pissy about it… You're Prim, aren't you?_

[ Nice to meet you, too. ]

 _Well… I was hoping for more of a face-to-face, but I guess this works just as well. Faster than writing letters, right?_

[ That's one way to look at it… ]

 _This is perfect. No one can overhear us and we're not leaving anything lying around for other people to read, right? So NOW can you tell me who Katrin is?_

[ … … …I suppose I can't avoid it, can I? ]

 _Nope._

[ Fine… I am Katrin. ]

 _That explains a lot, actually. And who is the real Prim…?_

[ She is… WAS my big sister. She and Mother… were killed in an explosion at the factory they both worked at. I was still very young at the time. ]

 _And then Jude helped you get into the Lunar Academy, right? I gathered that much from your dream-memories._

[ He did more than that. Jude is part of a hacker group that created a false ID for me, complete with changing the information on the network so no one could figure out the scam without some serious digging. If they didn't do that, then I would have had to wait almost three more years before I could enroll… ]

 _Because you were too young…?_

[ That's right. ]

 _Wow… what could have driven you that hard? Why couldn't you have waited?_

[ The colony needed to send enough volunteers to meet our quota, and we were short by just one. If we didn't send enough, then we would have missed out on vital support from the government. Thousands would have starved. I HAD to go. ]

 _That's …harsh._

[ Life in space has never been easy. ]

 _What about the surface? You mentioned it in a few letters, but how are things there?_

[ The surface is dead. There hasn't been any life for over a century. Humanity used up nearly all our remaining natural resources in order to build the first colonies and we haven't been back since. ]

… _Seriously?_

[ Seriously. Now enough about me… we've got a lot of time to kill, so tell me more about YOU. What kind of world did you come from? Who are… uh… Yang, Weiss and Blake? And what's a 'Grimm?' ]

 _Hoo boy… this WILL take a while…_

…

…

/…\

/… …\

/… … …\

 **[ Continued in Next Chapter ]**

…

* * *

 **A/N: As with the previous** _ **Sojourn**_ **entry,** **I'm gonna wrap things up here in three parts. This will likely be a common trait for all of Ruby's chapters, so expect more like it in the future. Don't worry, though… the other tales will have more variety in length.**

 **On to the finale!**

 **=^w^=**


	36. SOJOURN: Titan Dream (pt3)

**Author's Note: Okay guys, time to wrap up the second episode of** _ **Sojourn**_ **. There will also be a couple of epilogues for dessert. Enjoy!**

* * *

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Designation: Remnant-9929 (Future World)_

 _Status: Level of technological development far exceeds other timelines. Population relocated to orbital colonies through use of alternate fuel source, original planet abandoned. Grimm absent. Ecosystem in critical condition._

 _Condition: Green_

 _Recommendation: None_

… … … … …

… … …

…

They found it somewhere between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn.

The Vessel, as they had come to call the alien ship they had set out to intercept, looked a lot like a pill-bug turned upside down – it was rounded along the bottom half and had lots of little masts along the top edge that looked like legs.

Unlike a pill-bug, on the other hand, it was absolutely _enormous_. The entire Lunar Academy could fit inside the hull three times over. Even their transport, which had a hangar large enough for six Titans, was like a _speck_ next to this thing.

After finding an open dock near the top edge of the rounded part, the team carefully took their machines into the alien craft and got on with their mission. Commander Yui took the lead as they went, and half of Prim's mind was focused on _not_ running into anything that could eat metal. The fact that the passageways within the ship were big enough to allow their Titans to pass unhindered… that implied bad things about the denizens of the craft. How big _were_ these things?

Oh… and the _other_ half of Prim's mind…?

[ Wow… Never seen anything like this back home, _that's_ for sure… ]

" _Keep it down, you're distracting me,"_ Prim whispered harshly, not wanting her words to be picked up by the earpiece.

[ Sorry…! ]

Ruby Rose surely had more to say later, but for now she kept quiet. Once just a girl in Prim's dreams, now she was an actual voice in her head. And an annoying one at that. _Something_ changed after their extended conversation in hypersleep on the way here, and now Ruby Rose was awake and actively paying attention to everything around them. And commentating.

More annoying than that, however, was the fact that while Ruby could speak to Prim in her head, Prim could not respond in kind – she had to speak out loud for Ruby to hear her. And when you're wearing an earpiece connected to a network shared by all five of your squad mates, that could lead to… questions.

[ Hope there aren't any face-huggers in here… ]

Prim gave a quick, sharp hiss through her teeth. The voice of Ruby gave a yelp, then shut up again. Prim could imagine the girl flailing her arms in a panic and almost smiled at the mind image.

 _(You alright, kid?)_ Maxwell buzzed through her earpiece. They'd heard that hiss, it seemed.

"Yeah, just… working out a leg cramp," she lied. Prim gave her leg a shake to make her point – and Crescent Rose mirrored the move from the outside. Just as it was meant to.

 _(Happens to the best of us… hypersleep can be a real bitch when you're not used to it.)_ Commander Yui spoke with a voice of experience, having led more than his fair share of missions. _(We gotta stay loose, though… you most of all. No telling what we'll find in here.)_

"Got it," she responded. None of them expected her to pick up the standard radio jargon on her first mission, like saying 'Roger' or anything like that, so they kept quiet and moved on.

The team's machines were mostly the same, but each pilot had put their own twist into the design and weaponry – Maxwell used a bladed melee weapon, while Barton loaded his Titan down with high-caliber guns, among other things. Commander Yui's Titan used a powerful-looking energy rifle, a prototype that was supposedly too strong to mass-produce.

They marched on in silence, making their way towards what they hoped would be the heart of the alien Vessel. Thankfully Ruby remained quiet.

But now Prim was also on the lookout for 'face-huggers'… whatever those were. Thanks a _lot,_ Ruby.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 **Chapter 36:** _  
_ **Titan Dream (part 3)**

… … … … …

… … …

…

Once they found the control room (at least, a room that _looked_ like a control room of some kind), things began to change. Commander Yui ordered two of the men to return to the transport and the other two to wait outside the room in their Titans. He and Prim went in by themselves.

Unlike every other part of the Vessel they'd seen so far, the control room was normal size for a human. Long banks of computer screens and keyboard-like input panels lined two sides of the oval-shaped room while the middle featured a chair and a circular device on the floor. Likely where the Captain sat. No windows to the outside, though. As far as Prim could tell, they were probably in the center of the Vessel.

Commander Yui took less than a minute to look around, then walked up to the chair and started investigating quietly… but then he locked gazes with Prim and took out his earpiece, motioning for her to do the same. His dark brown eyes were always intense, but now he seemed to be looking into her very soul.

The teenager swallowed hard, removing her earpiece as instructed. She had a bad feeling about this…

"I need you to be honest with me, Prim… how old are you?" the taller man said once they were off the network.

Prim grew a shade more pale before saying, "…f-f-fourteen, s-sir." She _could_ have continued lying, but the Commander spoke with a tone she knew well – her own Mother used that same tone when she knew her children had done something wrong. It was a test to see if the troublesome child would come clean or keep fibbing. Rare was the child that failed that test more than once.

The Commander nodded, his eyes losing some of their intensity. "About half an hour ago, I received a transmission from Admiral Ray – I have been ordered to place you under arrest for enlistment fraud. Apparently the hacker group that got you enlisted was caught, and they gave up their info in exchange for leniency. The Admiral knows everything now."

[ He takes one step towards us and I'll kick his butt, ] Ruby added unhelpfully. Prim was ready to start crying.

"However… I've decided to ignore that order."

Now she was simply confused. How was she supposed to react to that kind of news?

Commander Yui's face almost had a look of compassion as he said, "I understand your situation – my own colony was also in danger before I enlisted – so don't worry about it too much. Besides… we're millions of miles away from them. Right now, _I'm_ in charge. _I_ say you're staying with us. The mission continues as normal. I'll deal with them when we get back."

Fighting off the urge to run up to the man and hug him, Prim nodded and said, "Thank you, sir."

The man merely nodded and put his earpiece back in, then returned to the task at hand.

[ You know… he's pretty cool. Reminds me of my Uncle Qrow a bit. ]

Prim had to hide her grin as she continued her investigation of the various instrument panels all around her. She silently agreed with Ruby – although she only remembered the man called Qrow from a scant few dream-memories.

It didn't take the pair long to determine that they were completely out of their element amongst all the tech – fortunately, Sargent Winner was a tech prodigy. Once he came in and got to work, the team had a fully operational control room in less than an hour.

Naturally, that led to another problem… no one could read the alien writing, not even Ruby. It certainly looked like everything was operational, but…

 _(Sir, something's moving out here! Dozens of ships just launched from everywhere… and we're under attack!)_ buzzed Prim's earpiece in a frenzy. It came from the pair the Commander had sent back to the transport. Sounded like Maxwell.

"Help's on the way, hold tight!" the taller man barked into his own earpiece, then nodded at Winner and said, "Keep an eye on things, report anything unusual. Prim, with me! _Move!"_

Prim could feel Ruby's excitement building as they rushed back to their waiting Titans and blazed back to the hangar. The girl had mentioned that she was training to be a warrior back in her own world, so she was probably looking forward to the coming battle. Prim just wanted to vomit.

She wasn't a coward or anything… she just _didn't like_ fighting. There were always peaceful solutions to any conflict, but most of the rock-head soldiers and military leaders simply refused to budge on their old-fashioned ideas. They'd rather shoot the problems in the face.

It didn't help that the factory where her family died was making ammunition for the fleet when it went up. In a way, the military was responsible for her being an orphan. Indirectly.

They reached the hangar just in time to see one of the Titans take a hit to the fuel tanks and explode in a fireball. It was Barton. _Shit!_

The attacking ships were small, but slow and easy to track… yet they proved difficult to shoot. As far as Prim could see, they were likely unmanned drones – none of them had any sort of space for a cockpit and they all moved and fired rather mechanically. They also shared design details with the Vessel itself, which suggested that they were related…

 _(Self-defense drones,)_ Commander Yui said over the radio. _(Probably activated when we got the control room online. Dammit!)_

 _(There's hundreds more outside the ship! There's no way we can-…)_ Maxwell never finished his sentence. His Titan blew apart in another explosion.

Prim was now trembling, a movement that was thankfully too small for Crescent Rose to mirror and give her away.

This was… this was _too much…!_

How was she supposed to fight these things?! Even professional soldiers couldn't do anything against them!

[ Prim! Hey, Prim! Let me do it! ]

 _Not now, Ruby! We're getting killed out here!_

Despite the onslaught of shots hitting it, Crescent Rose was turning out to be quite handy at _not blowing up_ – it's armor was stronger than a normal Titan's, but it was only a matter of time before even that gave out. The targeting system was also quite accurate, but her rifle would only last so long… and there were _so many…_ it seemed like two more appeared for every one she managed to take down.

[ I can help, and you know it! C'mon… switch with me! ]

Prim opened her mouth to tell Ruby to stuff it… but then something strange happened.

Her body did not move, but Prim herself… shifted. It felt like she was being disconnected from her own body and pulled _inside_ it. Bit by bit she slipped backwards. Then she felt… a presence of some kind… moving past her consciousness and… _taking control._

"Holy crap it actually worked…!" Prim heard her mouth mumble. "We switched!"

 _[ Warn me next time you do that shit! ]_ Prim tried to sound as irritated as she felt, but she couldn't hide her relief that she was no longer responsible for her own actions. She'd been relieved from the battle.

Based on Ruby Rose's memories, this was the best option. Time to leave this to a more experienced warrior.

 _(Prim, you alright? Why'd you stop shooting?)_

"Don't worry, I won't tell him," Ruby whispered with Prim's mouth, then said more loudly, "Yeah, I'm good but I'm almost out of ammo. Switching to melee."

The last thing Prim felt was her mouth stretching into a grin before she lost all remaining physical sensations. That just left her with sight.

And what she saw that day would burn itself into her memory for the rest of her life.

Unlike standard Titans, which had the pilot control the machine from a seat with numerous levers, sticks and dials, the Mark-17 used a prototype setup known as Tandem Control. In short, the pilot was connected to a full-body sensor that took the movements of the body and translated them as movements of the machine. There was no chair – if the pilot took a step, the machine took a step. Prim had taken over a month to get used to it, but now she and Crescent Rose moved together naturally. The targeting system adjusted for Prim's poor aim.

However… with Ruby in control, Crescent Rose was a whole different beast.

Prim could only watch through her own eyes in total awe as the mental intruder took the machine on a whirling dance of death and destruction. The twin blades built into the arms of the machine moved like silver lightning as Ruby destroyed the remaining ships in the hangar in less than a minute. How could the Mark-17 even keep up with all of Ruby's ridiculous moves?!

Then they moved the fighting outside, into open space. Combining her crazy speed and accuracy with those arm blades, Ruby Rose made short work of the alien drones. It was truly insane to watch. Even the experimental flight unit of the Mark-17 proved to be no trouble for her, as the machine moved easily through the three-dimensional battlefield. There was no way Prim could follow more than a moment or two of the action.

Prim never knew _anyone_ could move that fast.

"Hah… hah… hah… Now _that_ was _fun!"_ Ruby grunted as she caught her breath, finally finished with the destruction.

 _[ Holy shit… did you use that… 'semblance' thing you told me about? ]_ That was one of the more interesting parts of the world Ruby Rose came from – they apparently had super powers. Ruby was able to move at _very_ high speeds when she wanted to.

"Actually, no… but I did push it …a bit too much… I need a nap…" she replied quietly, between gasps.

 _(Where the hell did THAT come from?)_ came Commander Yui's shocked voice over the radio.

 _[ Either switch back with me or come up with something to tell him. ]_

"I… uh… I watch a lot of… Kung-Fu movies…?" Ruby replied lamely.

Both Commander Yui and Prim inside her own head gave a sigh. _(Well… let's get back to the control room. Winner made a breakthrough a few minutes ago.)_

"Uh… roger that."

If Prim could control her hands, she would have done a facepalm.

…

 _[ … … …Why haven't we switched back yet? ]_

"I'm trying… but it's not working…!"

 _[ Keep it down, dummy! What did you even DO to get us here?! ]_

"I didn't DO anything, I just… kinda… … … _came forward…?"_

 _[ Then can't you GO BACKWARDS…? ]_

"No, I can't. Maybe _you_ should try it, Miss Smarty-pants…"

 _[ Fine! … … … … …Just… come forward… right…? ]_

"Yep, just… … … okay, that feels really weird… … …"

[ … ]

"…"

[ Did it work? ]

"… … …Looks like it did. Wow, that's freaky… Man, Doctor Noah's gonna have a field day when I tell him about _that…"_

[ One thing at a time, Prim. Don't we have somewhere to be, first? ]

"If you insist… Oooh… … … Oh God, I'm gonna feel _that_ in the morning."

[ Sore muscles are a sign that you're doing something right. ]

"Oh, stuff it."

…

As it turned out, the 'big breakthrough' was quite significant – Winner managed to connect his personal computer to the main system of the Vessel and put together a rudimentary translation system. Much of the alien writing now appeared in English.

That was all, though.

"Not much we can do with that, is there?" the Commander asked absently…

BEEP-BEEP

No one spoke for a second as the loud buzzer-like sound reverberated through the room. It was the first reaction they'd gotten, but… nothing else.

Winner spoke next, "I have no idea what that was…"

BEEP-BEEP

Commander Yui griped at the ceiling, _"Knock it off!"_

BEEP-BEEP

Just before the Commander reached for his sidearm to start shooting at the control panels, his nerves at the breaking point, Prim finally spoke up, "Should I wait outside?"

BING!

"…?"

Not a buzzer this time, but now the room almost sounded …pleased.

-VOICE PATTERN RECOGNIZED AS FEMALE-

-BIOSIGNATURE 72% MATCH-

-NEW CREW MEMBER DETECTED AND SCANNED-

-STATE YOUR NAME-

Winner's eyebrows almost leapt off his face as the system spoke in near-perfect English. Commander Yui still looked miffed, but much less likely to start wantonly destroying the place. He glanced over at Prim and nodded – it was clear the system only responded after hearing Prim's voice, so she was the one to continue the conversation.

Swallowing hard, the girl said, "…Primrose."

-NEW CREW MEMBER REGISTRATION COMPLETE-

-WELCOME ABOARD, MISS PRIMROSE-

-PLEASE REPORT TO GRAND ADMIRAL KAANS CHAMBERS FOR FULL DEBRIEFING AND SYSTEM CHECK-

The two men and one woman in the room looked at each other with growing confusion and apprehension. Prim looked around and said, "Um… how… where is Grand Admiral Kaan's chambers…?"

-HIGHLIGHTING PATH-

A door on the far side of the room slid open as the floor suddenly glowed with incandescent light. Commander Yui pulled out his pistol and nodded to Winner, "Keep us posted."

The blonde man nodded back, stating, "It looks like the system adapted to our language by… scanning my computer's hard drive! Amazing! Think of what we could learn from all this… … …"

He kept talking, but the Commander and Prim were already moving down the new hallway.

The path was pretty straightforward – the pair arrived at their destination in no time. A large pair of sliding doors silently opened to allow them in.

As the visitors took in the sight, both sets of jaws nearly hit the floor at the same time.

The chambers themselves were not too big, but three of the four sides were one continuous curved-glass panel. The only things inside the chambers were three round pods, like their own hypersleep pods, that were each lit with a faint bluish light.

But that was nothing compared to the view _outside_ the room.

By Prim's best guess, they were looking into the front half of the Vessel's main hull – and the space was filled with similar glass pods that stretched for miles. Literally. Tiny blue lights adorned each and every setting, like stars that spanned the unthinkable distance. Once again, the sheer scale of the ship left the humans in awe.

Once Prim and the Commander stepped further into the room, the lights in the floor came on. A hissing sound filled the space, followed by a fine mist that seeped out of the pods before them. Moments later, the round glass of the pods lifted up on a hinge, revealing the occupants.

Aliens. Primrose was front and center for humanity's first contact with extraterrestrial life.

It was all she could do to keep from passing out.

The figure on the left sat up first, resembling a female with startlingly human features – except for two animal-like ears on top of her head. They looked a bit like fox ears. The woman's green eyes were also strange, as the pupil was a narrow slit, like a cat's eye. She had long brown hair and wore a black and red set of robes.

The figure on the right was next, and she could have passed as a twin of the first, except that her hair was shorter. Her eyes were a lighter shade of green as well, almost a blue-green.

[ You… have… GOT to be kidding me…! ]

And then the figure in the middle sat up. Prim had no doubt this was the Grand Admiral mentioned by the computer. The other two were probably assistants of some kind.

The woman called Kaan stood half a head taller than even Commander Yui, with regal robes that dragged the floor and a cold look in her golden yellow eyes. Her animal-like ears resembled the ears of a tiger, and her short hair was a deep umber.

"~…~…~"

Despite the clear tone of authority she spoke with, Kaan used words neither human had any chance of understanding.

One of the two fox-eared women offered some advice in their own language, which prompted a short conversation between them. Prim swallowed hard. Commander Yui adjusted his pistol in it's holster.

Kaan looked back and gave a sharp motion to follow. The group, now five in total, quickly made their way back to the control room.

[ Unreal… … … why are _faunus_ on an alien ship…? ]

Faunus? Oh yeah… Ruby had mentioned them during their talk. People with animalistic traits that lived among normal humans. So they were normal for Ruby… but not here? That _was_ strange.

They arrived at the control room just in time to see one of the two fox-eared women start to argue with Winner over the mess he'd made, but Kaan stopped her with a raised hand. Prim watched those golden eyes carefully examine what the man had done, then she nodded to herself and waved the two assistants away to their duties – each one took a position at the computer banks on either side of the room.

Interesting… how much did this Kaan person see?

The woman called Kaan sat down in the main chair, then pointed at Prim and motioned for her to stand inside the circular structure on the floor. The girl reluctantly complied, her heart beating hard enough that she was sure everyone in the room could hear it.

Admiral Ray was ready to chew her out when they got back... and now she was about to get chewed out by another Admiral, this one an alien of some kind.

Would it ever end?

Nodding to one of her assistants, Kaan hit a few buttons on the chair's panel. A holographic screen came up between her and Prim, but it was mostly empty. Kaan said a few of her alien words…

Then the screen lit up with English words, {Who are you people? Why are you here?}

Subtitles? Okay… that's one way to do it.

Ignoring Winner's startled cries from the other side of the room ("Hey! They reverse-hacked _my_ computer! Clever bastards…"), Prim worked a bit of spit back into her mouth before she replied, "I'm… I am Primrose. I… We… are humans. We came out to… investigate an incoming alien vessel… to see if it was a threat… to our people."

As Prim spoke, words appeared on the screen in that alien writing they'd seen when they first arrived. Kaan appeared to be reading it, but showed no response to the message.

She spoke again, and the screen displayed, {Why did you not establish contact through sub-light transmission? Our system would have responded automatically, and there would be no need for trespassing.}

Prim blinked, then said, "I don't… we don't know what 'sub-light transmission' even _is."_

Kaan read the translation of the words, then finally showed some emotion – she looked stunned. Like she couldn't believe the humans were _that_ stupid.

Rather than keep talking, Kaan brought up several displays on the hologram for all to see. She ran a scan of their transport, doing a detailed diagnosis of the systems, then ran a video feed that was likely filmed by security cameras – it was the battle they'd just finished. Crescent Rose was clearly visible as it danced like a demon while it demolished the drones. More scans showed the inner workings of both Crescent Rose and the other remaining Titans.

Kaan spoke again: {We have some knowledge of your race, but it is clearly incomplete. You lack even _basic_ communication systems, yet have mastered the art of combat with exo-suits… you humans are truly a strange species.}

Prim gathered her courage, her words flowing more naturally, "We simply haven't had much time to develop ourselves as you have. We are a young and frightened race… we only need the opportunity to grow."

{To my eyes, you have already grown in ways you need not continue – _war_ is a base and worthless skill to hone.}

"I agree, yet there is more to our race than war. Humans have art, and music, and poetry… things that appeal to our sense of beauty and compassion. We were once a people that longed to explore the unknown… and we can be again."

{We, too, are explorers. Our planet is dead and we seek a new world to live on. Our entire race sleeps within this very ship, waiting for the day we finally find our home. It is my sacred duty so see us all to safety.}

"Then we are not so different. The world we come from has also died out, and our race lives in orbital colonies. We struggle to hold on to our feeble existence, fighting to survive day by day."

After a pause to consider her words, Kaan studied Prim from her chair with one finger tapping her chin and said, {Perhaps we can help each other.}

"How?"

{According to the system log, our ship automatically set a course for your world because it showed no signs of habitation and it meets the criteria for our terraforming processors – we could potentially transform it into a habitable world for my people. However, if humans still laid claim to it…}

"…You could start a war."

{Precisely. We have no means to defend ourselves from your weapons, but the next viable world might lay millions of light-years away. We do not have enough fuel, nor time. I wish for… a negotiation.}

"I am… _not_ the person to speak to about that…"

{I will speak with no one else. On my authority as Grand Admiral, I name you Ambassador of the Human Race. None save the Empress herself may oppose your will.}

"Wh-What? Why…?"

Kaan thought for a full minute before she gave her answer: {Because you understand what is most important – peace before war.}

…

… … …

… … … … …

Prim stood in the hangar with Commander Yui, along with Winner and the only other survivor of their crew, a quiet man called Fei. The Commander had copies of Barton and Maxwell's dogtags that he was taking back with him as per tradition. No one spoke. No one knew quite what to say.

Commander Yui, Winner and Fei were heading back to the fleet, taking Crescent Rose with them.

Prim was staying here. Like it or not, she had a lot to learn about the politics of an alien race.

"The Vessel slowed down after we 'woke it up,'" the Commander said, trying to break the silence, "It won't reach the fleet for some time yet. You've got plenty of time to figure out this whole 'Ambassador' thing before it gets there."

"And your… _previous_ order…?" Prim asked hesitantly.

Commander Yui grinned for the first time, saying, "Well… Ambassadors usually have diplomatic immunity… so I doubt you'll hear about it again… unless the higher-ups have their heads even further up their own asses than I thought."

"Well… _that's_ good to hear…"

The Commander sent Winner and Fei into the transport, then bent down to give Prim a surprisingly gentle hug and said, "I lost my daughter during the war… and she would have been about your age by now. So… since she's not here… I'm proud of you, Primrose. Good luck out there."

"Thanks…" Prim very nearly choked as she almost called the man _dad._

The taller man ruffled Prim's hair as he stood back up, earning a light snarl from the teenager. He chuckled as he strode back to the transport.

Seriously, why does _everyone_ love to do that to her?

Prim wondered if she'd ever see that man again. She hoped so… his presence had become rather comforting of late.

Just before the bay door closed, Winner jogged back out. He muttered, "Almost forgot," as he pulled something from a cargo pouch at his belt. "It's kind of a good luck charm for me, but… I want you to have it… Madam Ambassador."

It was a large card of some kind. Prim absently reached for it, when…

[ WAIT! DON'T TOUCH THAT! ]

Her fingers froze less than an inch from the card, and she could now make out the image on it – a painting of a rose encircled by thorns. The words _The Rose_ sat at the bottom. It looked more than a little familiar…

"What's wrong?" Prim asked quietly.

[ Last time I touched that card, I vanished… and ended up inside your head. I have no idea why it's here, _again,_ nor what'll happen when you touch it, but… ]

Winner looked puzzled, but Prim held up a finger to bid him wait a moment. She murmured, "I remember that part of the dream. But doesn't that mean… it's time for you to go?"

[ I don't wanna go yet! Are you kidding?! With everything you're gonna be going through? I don't wanna miss _that!_ ]

"You might not get another chance…"

[ … … …I hate it when you're right, you know that? ]

"Uh-huh. Even though you've been really noisy… I'll miss you, Ruby."

[ *whimper* I'll miss you too, Prim. Tell Val I said bye when you see her again. I'd hug you right now, but… well, you know. ]

"Of course. Goodbye… Ruby Rose."

And with that, Primrose finally took the card. There was no immediate reaction, so Prim simply gave her thanks to Winner so he could finally get onboard and go home.

When she looked back down at her hands… the card was gone.

"Ruby…?"

No response. No new, separate emotions. No sense of someone else in her head. Only silence. Things were going to be a lot quieter from now on.

Prim's throat locked up as she suddenly felt the sting of loneliness. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she glanced out at the stars.

"I hope you finally find your way home, my friend…"

…

…

…

…

…

… …

… … …

… … … …

… … … … …

_/_/_/_/_/

 _THE SHADOW SEEKS A PLACE IN THE LIGHT_

 _SOWING FEAR, MADNESS AND DEATH IN THE NIGHT_

_/_/_/_/_/

… … … … …

… … … …

… … …

… …

…

…

…

…

…

The first thing Ruby thought of when she opened her eyes was a sci-fi movie she'd seen a few years ago. In it, all of humanity had been enslaved by robots and imprisoned within a virtual reality while their bodies were kept in nasty-looking cocoon things filled with slime.

That was where she thought she was at first… in one of those cocoons. And it was really warm in here.

It was smaller than the ones in the movie – Ruby was bunched up inside it in the fetal position with only enough space to wiggle around. She could clearly tell it was also filled with a jelly-like substance, but she seemed to have no problem breathing. Maybe she had an air tube in her nose?

She tried to reach up to find out, but was stunned to find that her hand was… was… _mutated._ The fingers were bony and shrivled, almost like a mummy's hand. Oh _gods…_ what kind of toxic waste did she fall into?

Her legs weren't much better – she could tell that her feet had been stretched out somehow and her toes were long and bony. The rest of the legs felt relatively normal, though she suspected she was very close to cramping. This pod-thing was _way_ too small.

Her eyes were blurry, but there was enough light coming through the walls for her to see. She almost thought she saw something long and skinny sticking up from her backside and curled around her belly. Almost like… a tail. Maybe that was her air tube? She also felt sagging, flappy sheets of flesh hanging from her arms, reminding her of old ladies she'd seen whose skin sagged low enough on their upper arms that they could fan themselves with it when they waved at somebody.

Damn… she must look like a monster right about now.

… … …Not that old people looked like monsters or anything…

Even though her eyes weren't working right, Ruby still looked around her spherical prison for any sort of way out. The cocoon in the movie was soft enough that the guy inside could just tear it open, but Ruby's prison turned out to be far tougher. Either that or she was just too weak to push very hard. Even pushing with both legs did nothing – the walls almost felt like a dense ceramic material, but it might as well have been solid stone. In frustration, Ruby bashed her head against the side.

It was here she discovered two things: first, her prison was _not_ secured in place at all. Shifting her weight like that caused the prison to rock and tilt violently, nearly tumbling it end over end. Well… if nothing else, she might be able to… _roll_ to freedom?

Second, she was not alone in this place. As soon as the prison moved, Ruby felt a massive concussive force rock the floor and heard a badly muffled voice – but a voice that clearly belonged to a giant, booming all around her. Some sort of prison warden? Where in the nine hells _was_ she, anyway? And why was it so _hot_ in here?

Even with a mutated body, she was not about to just _sit there_ and find out the hard way. Looking around again, a new detail caught Ruby's eye – the spot where she tried to smash her head now had a bright sliver of light shining through from beyond. A crack? She tried hitting it with her head again and the line splintered into two lines, then three.

As she kept hitting and pushing the same spot of the prison wall, Ruby made a point to remember how this gave the phrase 'using your head' a whole new meaning. Heh. Yang would have enjoyed that one. The voice of the giant warden continued vocalizing outside, though she had no way of understanding it.

After what felt like an hour of struggling, Ruby finally burst free of her spherical prison – only to find herself in a new and totally alien world.

The room was… _absolutely gigantic!_ Never before had Ruby seen a room that stretched so far into the sky. She almost imagined the ceiling fading away above the atmosphere. She could see a few walls, but they were also miles away from where she lay. The floor was truly strange as well – massive shafts of something wiry and curly kept her from easily moving about, frustrating Ruby's attempts to push herself upright. And it was cold out here… she found herself missing the warmth of her prison.

There was still goop in her eyes, but Ruby could now look back and see her prison. From the outside it almost looked like… an egg? Sitting on a huge warming tray of some kind?

Out of the frying pan, indeed.

"…ere you… re…" the giant's voice boomed over Ruby's head, just starting to clear up as it no longer had to penetrate layers of goop _and_ the wall of her prison. Two mammoth hands came out of nowhere and picked Ruby up off the floor as easily as Ruby picked up a cookie off a plate. Hopefully she wasn't about to be snacked on…

Ruby was shifted onto one massive hand while the other grabbed a towel the size of an airship and gently tried to wipe the goo from her face. She almost thought she could hear… humming. Was it the giant? Was the great warden trying to lull her to sleep before stuffing her back into another prison?

" _There_ we go… now you can see. Such pretty eyes you have, little one…" While still booming and loud, the giant's voice now sounded distinctly feminine. "Welcome to the world."

The sudden sensation of _lifting_ caused Ruby to jump, but her gnarled claws were not very good at clutching the giant's hands for support – yet now that she could see better, Ruby noticed how soft and clean those hands were. Very clean… and very human.

Looking up at the giant's face only confirmed more human-like features, but the angle was all wrong to see anything but a chin the size of a small moving van. The giant held Ruby close to her chest, giving her a good look at rough-spun fibers as thick as shipping ropes. It was likely a normal shirt, but it could probably fit overtop of her house back on Patch.

She was warmer here, too – the giant's body heat was oddly relaxing.

Ruby soon found herself being carried through the enormous room (which, in hindsight, was probably normal size for the giant). She was brought to one of the walls that held a vast mirror that could have fit all of Beacon Academy on it's surface. In that mirror was the smiling face of the giant, clear at last.

"I think I'll call you… Gamble. Since even the breeder didn't know your lineage, so we just took a chance. Looks like it worked out, huh? I think I'll spell it with an 'O-L' … _Gambol._ Sounds more cool."

Ruby could never have mistaken that ebony hair and those amber eyes, nor the cat-like ears atop her head. The proportions suggested that the giant was actually a child, but there was no doubt that Blake Belladonna herself was holding Ruby's tiny body.

Speaking of which…

The shriveled bundle of scaly pink flesh in Blake's arms looked just as grotesque as Ruby first imagined. Now, however, she could see that her head was the single ugliest part of her – the snout was huge and bony, the mouth was far too big, and the horns on the back of her head were little more than black nubs.

But at least now it was clear what was going on. The look of the creature in the mirror, the sheer _scale_ of the world around her, and the prison she had just escaped from…

She'd just hatched. From an egg.

Ruby… had just started a new life…

 _As_ _a baby dragon._

"…!"

She opened her mouth to scream, but all that came out was a high-pitched reptillian squeal.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Unknown World, Underground Bunker, Private Room_

…

Thorn would have paid a lot of cash to know what the kid was thinking right now.

The black-garbed psychopath stood off in a far corner of the room, watching as the kid took in the newest face to be brought into their little coven. And she didn't look happy.

Soulberry, as the woman called herself, had been fawning over the newcomer for several minutes but had thus far missed the kid's darkening mood. As far as Thorn could see, the Daughter of Salem was ready to snap.

"…And based on what I saw, she's supposed to be a tactical genius. Why, I'd wager we could conquer _multiple_ worlds with her skills…"

The woman in question resembled a vegetable – her eyes were locked onto a spot in the distance and she probably wasn't even aware of the other people in the room. Sad, really… those were the least fun to torture. Didn't even cry out when you stabbed them.

At least she was nice to look at – If Thorn had to give the big-boobed woman credit for anything, it was her taste in bitches. Nine out of ten, would recommend. Very fuckable, even for a faunus.

At last the kid moved, forming a complex motion with her hands as invisible threads of energy were spun into a pattern. Soulberry suddenly gave a yelp as she was lifted into the air and restrained, but there were no ropes to be seen.

The kid was doing her thing again, only this time she was holding the woman in place with _the air itself._ The woman's mouth was also gaping open, but not from awe… a solid ball of invisible air was forcing her to keep quiet.

Boy… _that_ was a trick Thorn would gladly lick a few shoes to learn.

As the black-garbed woman watched, the kid held a whimpering Soulberry in the air with one hand and used the other to open another rift in space… and then she floated the bound woman through the opening and held her on the other side. Thorn could hear the muffled screams making their way through – it sounded like the woman was fucking _dying._ She could just make out a few wisps of smoke wafting into the room from beyond the rift, along with an ominous sizzling noise.

In all of this, the kid didn't say a word. Her movements dripped with icy rage, a far cry from her normal _I-am-more-merciful-than-you-think_ routine. Looks like she ran out of mercy today. Yikes.

After several minutes of muffled screaming, the kid pulled the woman back into the room… but what came back through the opening was little more than a twitching, burned-out husk that barely looked human. The smell of charred flesh was strong as the rift in space was closed back up.

Thorn swallowed hard, no longer certain that she would remain unharmed in all of this. By the gods… did the kid open a portal to _hell itself?!_ Or maybe the inside of a volcano?

Still without speaking, the kid dropped what used to be Soulberry onto the floor without any sort of care. She then made another motion with her hands – the kid once called it ' _weaving_ ' – and the burned-out husk began to glow with a faint light.

Large patches of new flesh suddenly began to spout overtop of the char, starting with the face. Thorn was treated to the woman's screams again, this time without any sort of filter. Whatever was happening, _gods_ did it sound painful. Who knew healing could hurt that much?

The kid remained impassive as she waited for the healing to finish.

Soulberry continued screaming and thrashing as her flesh was forcibly re-knit.

The new woman didn't so much as blink.

And Thorn was debating whether or not she should find a private place to satisfy herself. All that lovely screaming… gods, it was a wonder she didn't just climax right there, hands-free.

When it was finally over (and Thorn's ears stopped ringing), Soulberry lay on the floor as naked as the day she was born… and almost as small. Gone was the woman with the titanic tits – in her place was a girl not much larger than the kid herself. Same deep red hair, but that was about it.

The Daughter of Salem knelt down so her victim could better hear what she said, but Thorn was certain that everyone in the base heard her words – and even now, the sound of a grown woman's voice coming out of a child's mouth was… disconcerting.

" _Act outside my will again, and next time I won't bother restoring you."_

The girl on the floor jerked in fear, but nodded without looking up. Her hair was the same length as in her larger form, but now it was almost long enough to reach her ankles if she stood upright. Most of it lay gathered in a pile behind her back.

The kid stood up and gave Soulberry one more look, then glanced at the new woman (who still hadn't moved) before finally heading for the door. Before she left, however, she turned back to the poor sod on the floor and said, a bit more gently, "Have a care, my dear… Death is not as forgiving as I am. Steal away too many souls from her grasp, and you will soon owe a debt you cannot pay. I will not envy you when she comes to collect."

The false child then turned those glowing red eyes on Thorn, who flinched at the sight for the very first time. "And you… find me in the meeting room. I have a mission for you." And with that she left.

"…"

The silence was more than awkward… it was downright dangerous. Thorn considered escaping through the shadows with her semblance, but something kept her from trying. Morbid curiosity, perhaps?

She could just make out the sound of grumpy mumbling, "…stupid sunlight… …now m'hungry… …useless faunus… …just feed on…"

Thorn took one step…

Then nearly jumped out of her skin when the girl on the floor whipped her head around and glared at her with open hostility. Those steel-grey eyes were a little too wide for comfort, her mouth set in a snarl. She resembled an angry ghost that had just crawled out of an old well from inside a TV set.

" _Get out,"_ she hissed, a rough sound not at all like she normally spoke. _"Before I decide to feed on you, too…"_

Thorn didn't even nod as she made for the door, but she did notice the wicked edge to the girl's canine teeth as the creature called Soulberry growled a warning.

There was no denying that the formerly top-heavy woman had screwed up somehow, but Thorn knew that her anger was not in regards to the mistake, nor was it directed at 'her goddess' …rather, her rage was rooted in her embarrassment.

Only a select few people knew that the child-like form on the floor was, in fact, the _true_ form of the being that was once called Ruby L. Rose. The well-endowed variation was just an illusion, along with all of her bravado. That was how she preferred to be seen by those she dealt with.

Thorn spared the enraged girl one last glance before leaving, as well as the lethargic woman behind her – she took note of the tiger-like faunus ears and the reddish streaks in that brownish hair – before walking out.

She just managed to catch sight of the girl standing up and walking over to the faunus woman, then bending her face down towards the woman's neck, right before the door shut with an ominous _click._

All she heard after that was the distinct sound of… sucking.

Thorn rubbed the side of her neck and shivered.

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _What About Roman and Neo…?_

…

By this point the duo had seen several different worlds, but they were no closer to getting home than when they started. Neo was running out of paper in her notepad.

"zzz… zzz…" And Roman was proving useless at the moment. The last world they were in offered a good variety of beers and strong ales to steal, and the ginger-haired man was _still_ trying to sleep them all off. He really got hammered – but at least he had fun, right?

Neo squatted next to Roman and reviewed her notes. She had been writing down each four-digit number they'd gone to, trying to avoid any repeats. Given enough time, they would eventually land in their own world. They _had_ to. Eventually. There were only so many four-digit numbers they could try.

The problem now was the simple fact that Neo couldn't remember the numbers she'd entered to get to _this_ world. It probably wasn't a big deal, but still…

"…Didjoo …heer somethin'…?" Roman suddenly slurred. Neo just shook her head _no_ , too focused on numbers to care about his rambling.

They were currently sitting against the wall of a building that was probably a school, but it was hard to tell. All they noticed when they arrived was the fact that there was a big lighthouse-looking structure built onto the place. It was also late afternoon, and the air carried the chill of cold weather. The shorter woman was ready to sneak into the building and climb up to the top of that lighthouse just to get away from her drunken partner for a few minutes…

"Therr'tis ag'n…" Roman mumbled as he staggered to his feet. "I th'nk someone's havin' a little nookie… 'round th' corn'r…" The tilted bowler cap on his head added to the image of a very sloshed man as he pulled his stolen phone out and grinned, "… _Blackmail time…!"_

Neo sighed deeply as the man staggered away, probably off to take a picture of a seagull or something equally worthless.

Admitting to herself that she would probably never remember the exact number of this world, Neo stashed her notepad and pushed herself upright with her umbrella. She grunted lightly as she popped her back, letting the blood flow back to her feet.

And that was when the shit hit the fan.

The sound of Roman's camera shutter rang out first, followed closely by an angry squawk of _"Hey, jerk!"_

Exit time already? Oh well… Neo readied the device with another code, this time one she could remember for later.

Then Roman came around the bushes, giggling like an idiot, and staggered into her. Bumping her free hand.

Jarring her umbrella loose.

The instant _before_ she hit the button.

The pair vanished in another burst of light… this time leaving a little something behind.

…

Seconds later, a young woman with platinum blonde hair and wearing a sparkling white jacket burst around the corner in an angry huff, head darting every direction to try and see who had taken that picture. She was ready to tear them a new one.

But then she saw the fallen umbrella… and her anger faded quickly. She picked it up carefully, unable to believe her eyes, and looked around again.

A second teenager emerged moments later, this one with deep red hair and wearing a red hoodie. She looked equally confounded, as well as a bit frustrated.

The girl in white muttered, "It can't be… … … she already found me…?" as she stared at the empty space the traveling pair had occupied only minutes before.

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **A/N: And that wraps up Round 2!** _ **(Finally!)**_ **And look! We learned a little about one of the baddies! For those of you who wondered about the names I used for this part of the story (all two of you), I pulled them from the _Gundam_ series of anime (Gundam 0079, Zeta Gundam, and Gundam Wing specifically). Also, Kaan's two assistants were meant to be female versions of the two faunus dudes from volume 5 of the show (whose names I can't be bothered to remember).**

 **I know some of you guys are really trying to be patient with me putting these chapters out so far apart, and I truly do appreciate that. As you all know, real life can be rather unforgiving. Between working full-time in a hot weather environment (with no A/C) and my marriage being in shambles, my brain simply refuses to brain for more than a few hours per day,** _ **if that**_ **… but I hold onto the hope of a brighter future. After all… it's always darkest before the dawn, right?**

 **Next chapter: Easily one of the most important events in the entire story.**

 _(You knew it was coming… … …  
Credits: Worth A Thousand Words written by… some asshat with a box :3)_

 **=^w^=**

 **(** _ **Temporary Author's Note:**_ **If any of you guys are interested, I'm looking for one or two beta readers for this story (preferably someone who can reliably critique my stuff, not** _ **just**_ **get the first look at it). I had a beta reader in the past, but I've kinda lost touch with 'em. If you're interested, shoot me a PM and we'll discuss it – but please don't use the review section.)**


	37. Intermission 2-3

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This chapter contains an event that I've been building up to for a large part of this story – that being said,**

 **PLEASE** **DO NOT PUT ANY SPOILERS FOR THIS CHAPTER IN THE REVIEW SECTION.** **ANY.**

 **I don't mind if you want to talk about it, but either be discreet or keep it in the PMs. Seriously, this is important to me.**

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 **Normal Notes: It has come to my attention that you guys are starting to get a bit lost with all the alternate-universe shenanigans going on. I know I had a Ruby Roster going back when I started this thing (which vanished for some reason *cough*), but I think it's high time I gave you guys a little bonus…** _ **character bios.**_

 **For now, I'm only including the main 7 of the Ruby Squad and the 4 'bad guy' Rubys we've seen so far. Other variants will come later on.**

 **And finally, Snow will be singing a 'La-la-la' sort of lullaby further down in this chapter – the tune she's singing is the chorus to** _ **All Our Days,**_ **from the RWBY vol. 2 soundtrack. Just for reference.**

 **(Also, to the guest who was a bit confused about the Roman & Neo segment from the last chapter, that was from one of **_**my**_ **stories –** _ **Worth A Thousand Words**_ **is my WhiteRose fic set in a more modern AU, which is why Weiss has platinum blonde hair instead of white and Ruby wears a hoodie instead of a cloak. My apologies for the confusion.)**

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 _Ruby Squad_

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Name: Carmine _  
_Age: 27 (30 in later chapters) _  
_Home World: Remnant-5815

Description: About the same height as Yang, wears a long white lab coat and wire-frame glasses. Wielded the weapon Omega Rose at the beginning, but has since lost it to the normal Ruby.

Summary: The Mad Scientist of the group, Carmine is the brains behind the multiverse travelling system and the one responsible for keeping everyone organized. Not completely stable in the head. Married to the Velvet of her world.

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Name: Rose _  
_Age: 18 _  
_Home World: Remnant-2789

Description: A bit taller than Carmine, wears a sleeveless shirt and capri-length pants with boots. Wears a red scarf in place of a cloak. Hair is long enough to touch her shoulders. Wields a larger variant of Crescent Rose, dubbed 'mark-2.'

Summary: Rose grew up with a hormone imbalance that causes her to produce powerful pheromones – making her irresistible to most females. Compounding the problem is her tendency to act like a guy and work out a lot, leaving her quite buff. Recently entered into a relationship with Blake while they were together in her world, but hasn't been seen since.

 _Backstory: Concurrence, Chapter 2._

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Name: Red _  
_Age: 16 _  
_Home World: Remnant-6971

Description: Slightly shorter than Ruby, wears a red jacket and black jeans. Other than the different gender, looks just like Ruby. Wields a pair of gauntlets called 'Amber Celica' that are slight re-colors of Yang's weapons.

Summary: Red is simply a guy version of Ruby, with two glaring differences: his semblance focuses on speeding up his mind and his fighting style is almost a direct copy of Yang's. Suffers from gynophobia (a fear of girls), but is slowly working through it. Last seen starting a relationship with his world's version of Weiss, also a guy.

 _Backstory: Concurrence, Chapter 3._

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Name: Sapphire _  
_Age: 28 _  
_Home World: Remnant-8843

Description: Pretty much the same appearance as Winter Schnee, except with Ruby's deep red hair and silver eyes. Front part of her hair sports a streak of pure white. Wields a slightly altered version of Qrow's sword, given to her as a gift.

Summary: The eldest daughter of the Schnee family, Sapphire grew up under a lot of pressure. She served in the military and as a combat instructor for several years, which was a large part of why she offered to train Jaune. Seems to have bonded with Weiss, yet still wants to know more about her own past… including the truth about her adoption.

 _Backstory: Concurrence, Chapter 4._

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Name: Cherry _  
_Age: around 7 _  
_Home World: Remnant-2208

Description: Very short, with large cat-like ears and a tail with deep red fur that matches her hair. Size of a young child. No weapon. When angry, she can transform into a werebeast with fiery red fur and cat-like features.

Summary: Cherry is the youngest of the AU-Rubys, and arguably the cutest. She was only dragged into this mess because her world was soon to face danger, but no one bothered to try training her once she arrived. Completely innocent. Quickly bonded with Velvet.

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Name: Ku / Thorn _  
_Age: around 19 _  
_Home World: Remnant-6602

Description: Almost as tall as Sapphire, started out with a red hood and cloak but soon replaced them with a black variant. Eyes are bright and cheerful as Ku, dim and empty as Thorn. Doesn't carry a weapon.

Summary: Possibly the most tragic of the Rubys, Ku's mind was broken very early in life when she refused to believe that her mother was really dead. Her mind split down the middle – half of her stubbornly retained her childlike innocence and wonder, while the other half took on all of her fear, anger and murderous rage. Supposedly killed in a bomb blast, Ku hasn't been heard from since… Thorn retains full control for the moment.

 _Backstory: Concurrence, Chapter 5._

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Name: Rain _  
_Age: unknown (she claims to be over 2,000) _  
_Home World: Remnant-0701

Description: Nearly identical to the normal Ruby, but shows far less emotion. Outfit and cloak are more faded and torn, too. No weapon – because she _is_ a weapon.

Summary: Rain has no memories from before the day she received her immortality from the Four Maidens of her world… but she remembers everything that came after. The sole survivor of the end of her world, she left it behind to accompany Carmine and act as an assistant. We haven't seen the true scope of her powers yet, but we know she has some elemental control (normal for a Maiden) and can manipulate time to some degree.

 _Backstory: Concurrence, Chapter 1._

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 _Evil Ruby Squad_

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Name: Vermillion _  
_Age: unknown (likely around 38) _  
_Home World: Remnant-0011

Description: Tallest AU-Ruby so far, wears an eyepatch over one eye. One arm is robotic up to her elbow, and this holds her dimensional transport device. Well-built and strong. No weapon seen yet.

Summary: We don't know much about the mysterious General just yet, but we know she's good on the battlefield – she seems to be responsible for the civil war in the land of _Nippon._ We also know that she seems capable of mind control, but not much else. Yet.

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Name: Soulberry (Ruby L. Rose) _  
_Age: Like she's gonna tell _you_ … _  
_Home World: Remnant-6671

Description: In her normal state, she is tall and _supremely_ well-endowed in the chest area (cup size of M, seriously). In her true state, she's about the same size and build as Ruby. Has very long hair that's normally kept in a basic ponytail.

Summary: We also don't know much about the insane alternate Ruby, but we do know a bit – her mega-boob form is actually an illusion, along with a few other parts of her persona. She seems capable of casting other illusions, but we don't know the extent of those abilities just yet. Other observations point to her being both totally insane and some kind of vampire. Seems to have a bad habit of snatching people out of the jaws of death…

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Name: Daughter of Salem (the kid) _  
_Age: 8 _  
_Home World: Remnant-6665

Description: Physically identical to Ruby at 8 years old, but with one severe difference – has the glowing red eyes of the witch Salem, as well as her deeper voice.

Summary: In her own world, Salem 'corrupted' Summer Rose just before dying, allowing her to live on as Summer's first-born child. Retains every one of her original memories and her normal personality, but finds herself in possession of a new and extremely potent power – she can 'weave' the threads of reality itself into new and unique patterns. She has the power of a _literal god_. Thus far we don't know what she's planning to do with this power, but it can't be good…

 _Backstory: Concurrence, Chapter 9._

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Name: The Shade _  
_Age: unknown _  
_Home World: unknown

Description: Same height as Ruby, wears a very tattered red hood and cloak over a bone-white mask that only has two narrow eyes slits. The rest of her… or, _it…_ is covered with rags and bits of armor.

Summary: As quiet as her namesake, The Shade seems to be the personification of death itself. Appears to cause madness simply by standing nearby. No one, not even the Daughter of Salem, can figure out what she's thinking behind that mask… nor why she bothers to stick around at all. Beware The Shade…

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 _(Feel free to refer back to this chapter if you forget any of these guys later on. Now, on with the story!)_

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 _Carmine's Lab_

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The Mad Scientist sat at her console, working on some kind of program or report but otherwise ignoring the black-haired teenager standing right behind her.

Blake Belladonna was trying very hard to maintain her composure. Her patience was almost at the breaking point.

Things needed to change… before someone ended up _dead._

Yang Xiao Long was currently in a quarantine mini-tent in the medical wing, hooked up to the best that Beacon had to offer in terms of keeping someone alive and well. She'd given everybody a scare when she reappeared from her journey with a wound that she claimed gave her a 'zombie virus.' She had hoped that transporting back would clean it out of her. Turns out she was wrong.

Rosey the faunus was also in the medical wing, but merely sleeping in an empty bed. It would be a day or two before she regained her full strength, but she was otherwise fine. She'd really worn herself out back there.

After a long and private conversation with Yang (while they were starting her on her meds), Snow and Sapphire made a trip out to town to take care of something. That just left Blake and Carmine alone in the lab.

"You know…" the older woman started saying with a clear tone of irritation in her voice, "…the entire reason I'm sending you guys out on these jobs is to _reduce_ my workload… and yet, somehow, it just keeps _INCREASING…"_

Blake could feel a vein throbbing on the side of her head, but she remained quiet.

"Heh… I don't know how you do it, I really don't," Carmine started laughing, the sound of a woman on the edge of hysteria. "In less than half an hour, both you and Yang take an entire handful of my theories and just _throw them out the fucking window!"_

Still Blake remained silent, but she made a point to unclench her fists before she drew blood with her nails.

Carmine continued her rant, standing up and looking at Blake while pacing a bit, "First of all, YOU… you go and take a native Ruby Rose from her own world and it… it… _fucking remains stable!_ Completely flying in the face of all my theories on dimensional stability and fundamental energy patterns. Let's not forget the fact that all the _stuff_ you brought with you was totally intact – even though _nothing_ was secured or stowed at all! Totally unthinkable! And worst of all was the fact that Yang _actually brought a fucking ZOMBIE VIRUS into my world!_ Blake, I'm _not equipped to deal with that shit!_ If _either_ of you stopped and thought about what _I_ have to deal with _-_ …"

 _POW!_

She never finished that sentence. Blake straight-up slugged the redheaded woman, knocking her to the floor. The cat faunus followed that up by drawing Gambol Shroud from her back and leveling the tip in Carmine's face.

" _You don't have_ _ **any**_ _right to be the angry one here,"_ Blake growled dangerously, baring her teeth in a snarl. Her ears were flat against her head, pinning the ribbon down.

Carmine wisely shut up.

" _My best friend is dying right now… and you're complaining about your WORKLOAD?!"_

The point of Blake's sword touched Carmine's neck, drawing a small drop of blood. The Mad Scientist gulped, but didn't dare argue. Now was not the time.

"No more surprise reveals… no more unexpected dangers… **no more."**

Blake made an effort to pull her weapon a few inches away from Carmine before she did something she'd regret, but made it clear that her anger had not faded. Her voice still carried a growl.

"I don't know if you're keeping us in the dark _on purpose,_ but it stops **now.** I won't let you send us into the unknown again… not unprepared. From now on, if you want us to do any more of these stupid jobs, _you tell us everything we need to know about where we're going_ _ **before**_ _we get there._ If not, then we simply _don't go._ There is _no_ option C."

Carmine gulped, then carefully replied, "…But what if I don't _have_ all the information? There's still plenty of worlds I haven't fully scanned…"

Blake's response was instant, "Then you send us out _together."_

Neither woman said anything else to each other – Carmine simply gave a solemn nod, which seemed to satisfy Blake. The faunus pulled her weapon away, took a deep breath, then sheathed it and left the room. Leaving behind a deafening silence.

Carmine didn't bother to get up right away, but pulled her glasses off and gave her face a quick rub. She muttered to herself, "Way to _go,_ Ruby… keep it up and _everybody_ will hate you… fucking _idiot…_ " before pulling another cigarette from her pack and lighting it with shaky fingers. "…Fucking… idiot…"

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 _Western Coast of Vale, Kavlin Beach_

…

As far as Snow Rosewood knew, she had _always_ loved the sound of ocean waves.

Vale didn't have many public beaches, but this one was well-maintained and kept open all year-round. The air was salty and cool, just the way she liked it. No seagulls here, which was nice – they were always too noisy for her. True sunset was an hour or two away, but the clouds still created a spectacular array of colors and sunbeams. This was one of her favorite times of day.

The beach itself was currently empty except for two people – Snow and her friend from another life, Sapphire.

Snow had a lot on her mind – Yang had finally told her the truth of her family, and what had happened to them after she vanished. Marigold was currently beyond her reach, but Sam…

Sam had sailed off into the sunset, just as he always wanted. That man was always a romantic.

And Snow… needed to say goodbye.

" _As the wind and the waves ebb and flow, so too does our life in this world…"_

Sapphire stood some feet away, close enough to hear Snow's words but far enough to give the shorter girl her personal space. The former heiress needed to do this on her own. Tradition required it.

" _Meetings and partings, beginnings and endings, all are like the tide…"_

As the wife of a sailor, Snow knew this day would eventually come. The Women's Circle back home would go over this prayer every month, making sure every one of the other sailor's wives had it memorized. In the event that their husbands did not come home, they had to recite this prayer to the ocean as soon as they heard the news… else neither they nor their departed could rest in peace. Any ocean would do, even if it wasn't the one they were lost in – it was the spirit that mattered.

" _The sun rose on our meeting, it sang at our wedding… and it sets on our parting…"_

Now came the tears, as the full depth of his loss sank in. Sam was gone. Snow took a deep breath as she continued, trying not to choke up.

" _Rest now, my husband, for your voyage is complete. Rest now, my lord, for your work is done. Rest now… my beloved… … for… for… ghk…! … …"_

Her throat locked up tighter than a square knot, forcing Snow to stop momentarily. Sapphire looked like she wanted to come closer, but a raised hand stopped her short. Snow wiped her eyes, took another shaky breath, and kept going.

" _Rest now, my beloved, for night has fallen…_

" _And I hereby swear, by the Light and my hope of salvation… that when my own voyage is complete, my work done and my night fallen… … … I will come and stand by your side."_

Snow watched the waves for a full minute before she could bring herself to move again. The view was slightly washed out by the tears in her eyes, but she didn't mind them too much. She absently adjusted the ring on her finger, reminding herself it was still there. And she remembered.

" _I love you, Samuel Rosewood… … … now, and forever."_

Sam was the first person she met upon arriving in that world, the place she now called home. Sam was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. And now he was gone, truly gone, off to find his own place in the Light.

Oddly, Snow felt a strange and fragile sense of …peace.

"Are you alright?" Sapphire carefully asked once Snow reached her. They trudged through the sand together until they reached more stable footing, but Snow's steps still faltered a little. The taller woman looked worried.

"I… I think so…" The wind picked up a little, sending Snow's long white hair flowing out in front of her – Sam always said it looked like a flurry of snow when it did that. He always loved running his fingers through her hair as they watched the sunset… _Oh, burn it all!_

Now the tears returned, fresh and biting. Snow choked a little before she started openly weeping. There was no stopping the torrent of emotions.

Sapphire, Light bless her, did not let those tears get very far. The woman quickly embraced Snow in a firm but gentle hug, giving her a strong shoulder to cry on – and cry she did, for more than just a few minutes. Sapphire's jacket was getting rather soaked. Snow let it all out, wailing into the taller woman's shoulder.

The pain of losing her husband was overwhelming, of that there was no doubt. Even that brief sense of peace was blown away like a tattered sail in a squall. Light… it hurt so much…

"Don't you worry… about the dark…" Sapphire started softly singing, a lovely tune that seemed familiar, "I will light up the night… with the love in my heart…"

An image flashed through Snow's mind, unbidden and strange – yet it seemed familiar – of herself and the rest of team RWBY, along with several other faces she once knew, standing in a room with mismatched furniture and odd wall art. Sapphire was standing right there with her.

"I will burn like the sun… I will keep you safe and wa~arm…"

They sang this song. Together. In another lifetime… yet the words echoed in the depths of Snow's heart with a fervor she never expected. The pain dimmed as she remembered that night, all those years ago.

Snow joined in, "Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day… I will be there to take all your fears away…" Both women now sang in a shaky duet, each remembering the words from the night in the karaoke bar. Words that Snow herself had written. "With a touch of my hand I will turn your life to… Go~o~o~o~old… With a touch of my hand… I'll turn your life to gold."

Sapphire chuckled lightly as she rubbed her hand along Snow's back, relieved that whatever she just did seemed to work. "I'm surprised you remembered the words," she mused.

"Thanks to you," Snow replied, finally pulling away from the hug. She locked eyes with the taller woman and smiled warmly. "I needed that."

"Are you… better now?"

A deep breath, then, "Better than I've been since arriving here. I feel like a weight's been lifted from my soul. I feel… lighter." Snow Rosewood, a girl who was once known as Weiss Schnee, wiped her eyes and smiled warmly at her friend.

Sapphire grinned, "Then how about we 'float' on back to campus? I don't know about you, but I'm a bit hungry."

"Walking on sand always works up an appetite."

"That… explains a lot, actually."

Snow's smile faded as she said, "…I think I'm ready… tomorrow morning, I want to tell you guys my story. I want to make sure everyone's there who wants to hear it… including you."

Sapphire embraced her friend in a one-armed hug, muttering, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

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 **Chapter 37:** _  
_ **Intermission** _  
_ **[2-3]**

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 _Medical Wing_

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Blake sat in one of the chairs in Yang's room, trying to focus on the crossword puzzle in front of her. It wasn't working.

[You don't need to watch me while I sleep, you know,] Yang buzzed through the built-in intercom. Her lavender eyes were cracked open and gazing at the faunus, but otherwise she looked dead to the world around her. The blonde's weapons, along with her jacket and boots, were in another part of the building that was also sealed… just in case.

The dense, clear plastic of the tent was a bit foggy, but otherwise allowed anyone to see inside with little trouble. Yang was currently on rather heavy medication that was meant to keep the virus from spreading too quickly – both Carmine and Velvet, a registered nurse, were working on a more permanent fix in the meantime.

"It's my choice," Blake replied in a monotone. She didn't have much energy left after dealing with Carmine a while ago.

Yang just blinked slowly before returning her gaze to the ceiling.

Almost as soon as Yang had been set up in her quarantine area, Carmine had tried to rope Blake and Snow into setting out on another transport job the next day – an offer that Snow swiftly declined. In fact, she went out of her way to make sure Carmine understood her reason… and it wasn't at all what Blake expected the former heiress to say.

Neither she nor Blake were going _anywhere_ until they knew, for certain, that Yang was going to be okay. And she refused to budge on her decision.

Blake was ready to _kiss_ Snow for that one.

Only after that did Snow and Sapphire have their private conversation with Yang, followed by Blake laying down the law with Carmine. That woman was becoming insufferable. Gods help them all if _their_ Ruby turned out like her…

Blake sighed and finally slapped the puzzle book down on a nearby chair before standing up and knuckling her back. It was getting late. Almost time for sleep…

[Bunking with Rosey?] Yang buzzed suddenly, startling the cat faunus.

"Yeah…" Blake didn't need to bother hitting any buttons, as the intercom automatically picked up any talking and fed it into Yang's tent. They could converse with each other freely. "She's kinda my responsibility now…"

Yang's eyes opened again, studying her old partner. [… … …You've changed, you know.]

"How so…?" Blake replied, her own eyes narrowing.

Yang spoke slowly, [When we first met, you were the 'cool cat' of the group. Now… well… you've become more like a doting big sister…]

"I think maybe you need a higher dosage… you're still making puns."

[And that's another point… you're not the quiet one anymore. When the team first got together, you would be the last one to say anything… but now you're quipping with the best of us. *sniff* I'm so proud…]

"You, on the other hand, haven't changed a bit."

[… … …I guess I haven't, have I?]

"Nope," Blake intentionally popped the 'p' sound, then lightly placed her hand against the plastic, "…And I don't ever want you to."

Yang lifted her own hand, weakly, and put it against Blake's. It would have been a touching moment… if not for the fact that Yang's arm was heavily bandaged and slightly gray in color.

It felt like an entire lifetime ago that Blake encountered Yang in the Emerald Forest, during the event that would see them become partners for the rest of their time at Beacon. Thinking back, Blake could only wonder at how perfectly the two of them were matched up – Yang's bright, loud presence was the ideal balance to Blake's darker, calm persona. They were the personification of Yin and Yang. Partners. Best friends.

In another life… if Rose had never stepped into the picture… could they have been _more…?_

[Oh… Before I forget, have Carmine strap my arms down before I go to sleep. Just in case.]

An unusual request, but simple enough. "I'll… make sure Velvet knows. Carmine and I aren't really on speaking terms right now."

[…How many times did you punch her?]

"Just once," Blake replied with a smirk. "Be strong, Yang… we'll get through this."

For the first time since before their previous teleportation, Blake saw Yang's signature grin. [We'd better… Or I have a long list of butts that need a good kicking.]

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 _Carmine's Lab_

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Much like before, Carmine sat at her console and worked… only this time, without any trace of her former irritation. Or much of anything else, really. Anyone who walked in on the scene could tell something was wrong, but only the woman who _did_ walk in could tell the true depths of the problem.

"Do you plan on working all night again?" Velvet asked in a dry tone, "You _know_ I don't like it when you do that…"

"Yang… needs me…" came the quiet reply. Carmine _did_ plan to work all night, and through the next few days if need be. She had to make it up to them. She had to… fix this…

"When was the last time you slept for longer than 20 minutes?"

The Mad Scientist didn't pause her work, but she did do a quick mental calculation before saying, "…About a month ago."

Velvet's tone grew irritated, "Why didn't you say anything? Didn't those pills I gave you have any effect?"

"None whatsoever. Velvs you _know_ I can't sleep alone, pills or no pills… and you know why. I didn't wanna bother you because I always have so much work to do… so many numbers to crunch… theories to revise… equipment to maintain… new viruses to fight off…"

"Ruby Rose, stop fingering your computer and look at me."

Carmine's fingers stumbled as she choked out a laugh, but she stopped as ordered. Even she had to admit… that was a good one. She couldn't hide her grin as she turned to face the rabbit faunus – Velvet stood with arms crossed, but also with a small smile on her face.

It helped that the brunette was only wearing one of Carmine's dress shirts… and little else. That was one of the many things she loved about the rabbit faunus – she could be quite _spicy_ when she wanted to.

"Well when you say it like _that…"_

Velvet cut off any more protests by grabbing Carmine's shirt collar and lifting her to her feet. She then plucked the cigarette butte from the taller woman's mouth, brushed off her shoulders and straightened out a few bangs. "You are coming to bed. Now."

Carmine's face lost it's grin, "But… Yang…"

"Ruby Rose, you need to learn to relax. She is in the care of the best medical technology in the world, not to mention the best doctor-nurse combination. Besides, if anything _does_ happen, we'll be the first to know."

"But…"

Velvet pressed her fingers against the side of Carmine's face, and… _tweaked._ The Mad Scientist's eyes immediately drooped. She stumbled forward, no longer able to stay fully awake.

"Cheater…" she mumbled, "You're… s'posed to… lemme change first…"

"Whatever works, honey…" Velvet mused. She put one of Carmine's arms over her shoulder to help the taller woman get to bed, but she didn't bother wiping the stupid grin off her own face.

As they walked out of the lab, Velvet leaned over and gave her wife a gentle kiss on the cheek. "You know… I used to hate that smoky smell. Now it reminds me of you…" she said quietly.

Carmine mumbled something under her breath as the pair walked out of the lab, holding each other close. The door quietly slid shut behind them.

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 _Medical Wing, Next Day_

…

"I'll be honest with you guys…" Snow started saying, "…I don't actually remember anything from right after I arrived there."

Snow took a drink of water, but didn't want to waste any more time. Everyone else in the room was giving her their undivided attention. This was already _long_ overdue.

Yang had been allowed a reprieve from her meds for a few hours, partly to test a new medical nanomachine cluster but mostly because Snow had chosen to use her room to tell her story. Around her tent sat Blake and Sapphire, as well as Carmine and Velvet. Rosey was still asleep in the room next door, since nobody wanted to be the one to wake her. Snow was looking forward to meeting the faunus, but right now she needed to focus.

"Luckily, I kept a diary. I didn't even remember doing _that_ until Sam gave it to me on our 2nd anniversary. I must have read that thing a hundred times… as such, I can summarize the first few months."

Carmine chose that moment to slurp her coffee rather loudly. Velvet gave her an annoyed look.

Snow cleared her throat and continued, "Right after I arrived and for the first week, I was stuck on a tiny island out in the middle of the ocean. There was only, and I quote, 'four trees, five coconuts, and a tiny-ass cave that wasn't even large enough to turn around in… much less take a piss!'"

Yang had to suppress a snorted laugh… since it would have grown into a full-on laughing fit.

"But then I found a supply cache deeper inside that cave, which turned out to be part of Sam's trade route – he kept a stash of things on that island to pick up on long voyages. He called it his waystation. Imagine his surprise when he found a strange girl eating all his food!"

Snow smiled warmly as the memories flooded over her, "The journal was kind of sparse after that, but I can remember spending almost two months on Sam's ship, the _Dragon._ He taught me everything I know about sailing. And he told me later on that he'd pretty much fallen for me before we ever hit dry land."

Sapphire spoke up next, "So you're a sailor? Not a skill I expected you to learn…"

"Based on how I wrote out the journal entries, I can understand your shock. It was clear I used to be rather… snobby."

Yang snorted again, not able to stop it as quickly as before. Blake gave her tent a flick.

"Once we reached land, it didn't take long for me to understand that there was nowhere to go… the name of Schnee was completely worthless there… so Sam offered to take me in. He'd been calling me 'Snow Angel' already, so the name just stuck in place of 'Weiss'… … … what? What'd I say?"

Upon hearing the name 'Snow Angel,' Yang quickly grabbed her pillow and appeared to be smothering herself with it. Snow almost thought she could hear the girl laughing through it, but couldn't figure out why. Her legs were also thrashing about under her covers.

Blake tried to give her partner a Look, but instead sighted and told Snow, "…I'll explain later." It took Yang another two minutes to calm down.

"Anyway," Snow took another drink of water, then continued, "It only took one more voyage with that man before I started to return his affections… and we got married right after we returned home. That was… one year after I arrived."

"That makes sense," Carmine spoke up this time, scratching her chin, "…One year was enough time for your energies to adjust to that timeline. You were well and truly _home_ by then."

Snow gazed at Carmine for a moment, trying to decide how to take that comment… then sighed deeply. The woman had meant no harm. "Indeed," she said, "But I never forgot my friends… my _team_. Right after we married, Sam and I started work on our house…"

"Wait," Sapphire sat forward, her eyes growing wide, "… _You_ built that house?"

"That's right," Snow replied with a grin. Judging by the older woman's reaction, this was a good surprise.

It was only _going_ to be a small home sitting on a hill, but the other residents of the town were not about to sit by and let them settle for 'good enough' …Nearly everyone donated supplies, food, or labor of some kind to make sure that she and Sam had a comfortable place to call home. Rosewood Manor was completed very quickly compared to most other homes in the area, and it was easily the nicest place for miles around.

Thank the Light it was quick… Marigold arrived less than a month after their house was finished.

"Having Marigold was _…_ the best thing to ever happen to me. Light knows it was painful, but I wouldn't change any part of it. I would go through it all again, in a heartbeat. My child, the product of my love for my husband… the most beautiful little girl in the world…"

Snow didn't bother to keep talking as the memories of her daughter flooded her mind. Her words would've had no chance of keeping up with the images, sounds, and emotions buzzing through her brain.

"If I may ask…" Carmine said carefully, not wanting to go too far off topic, "…what exactly did Marigold look like? If… no, _when_ my system tracks her down, it would help to know a few physical features…"

"I've been wondering about that, too…" Blake added. "All I can picture is a tiny version of _you."_

Snow glanced around the room, taking in the overall mood of her audience, then sighed as she said, "Well… she looks more like her father than she does me, I'm afraid. She has a lighter shade of hair than him, almost a reddish-gold, and she got his steel-gray eyes."

There was a beat of silence, followed by a buzz from Yang's tent, […Almost like Ruby.]

That was the first moment Snow tried to picture Sam in her mind next to an image of Ruby Rose… and the likeness was disturbing. She decided that she didn't like to think that there could be some relation between them… since if there was, Snow should have noticed it right away… not after almost _10 years of marriage._

Carmine stood to her feet with a satisfied grunt, "Well, that's actually a big help. I'll just head back to the lab and add those factors into the search. Do note, however, that her hair color probably got a lot darker if she's older now."

Snow lifted one eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

Velvet filled her in, "Hair color is determined by melanin content, and for some people that can change as they approach adulthood. There's all kinds of factors involved, but it's affected by individual genes and it's totally normal. Nothing to worry about."

Just before she stepped out the door, Carmine added, "I'll also set the system to search for every known shade of gray eyes, just in case. If her dimensional transfer was a bit traumatic, there's a small chance _that_ part might also be slightly different. I'll let you know if I get any hits."

The door shut on a hushed room. No one said anything for several minutes. The only sound was the various machines hooked up to Yang's tent.

Different _eye color?_ Snow _really_ didn't want to think about the chance that her Marigold, that beautiful child, might look so drastically different from the face in her memories…

_/_/_/_/_/

…

 _Mari bounced and hopped around the room, still far too energetic for her own good. Snow sighed, smiling – there was no way to stay mad at the silly girl._

" _And then, and then… Rand slipped and fell into the mud! Min laughed, but I helped him up! And then we all had a mud-ball fight! And I won!"_

 _Snow listened with half an ear while trying to stuff her rambunctious child into her pajamas. She knew about the mud-ball fight, of course – Snow had personally washed the child off under the freezing cold water of the well. There was a lot of mud._

" _I had fun today, Mama…" Mari finally yawned, her energy dipping lower by the minute. "Can I go play over at Bobby's tomorrow?"_

" _Tomorrow your father comes home," Snow replied with a firm but gentle tone. "You know he'll want to see you as soon as he gets off the boat."_

" _Aw, Mama…" came the inevitable whine, "…YOU'RE the one he wants to see! I can go play with Bobby 'til he gets home…!"_

" _If you're not there when he lands, he'll gather his entire crew to search the town from stem to stern no matter what I say. Remember what happened last year?"_

 _Mari's face compressed into a wince. She remembered alright. Still embarrassing to think about._

" _Get some sleep, Lovebug… we've got a big day ahead of us."_

 _Marigold smiled at the nickname, one Snow had been using for about 2 months by this point, and finally crawled under the covers. Snow blew out the nearby candles and sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at the child in the darkness._

 _Once her eyes adjusted enough to see her charge, Snow started singing a lullaby – this was a tune she'd known for a long time, but as far as she knew it had no words to it. Mari loved it. The music was perfect for getting the child to relax and sleep through the night._

" _I love you… Mama…" Marigold muttered as she fell asleep._

 _Snow smiled warmly, leaning down to kiss her child on the forehead. "I love you, too…" she whispered._

" _I love you more…" the child finished._

…

_/_/_/_/_/

"Snow?"

The former heiress blinked as she looked around, suddenly back from her trip down memory lane. How long was she just sitting there?

"What was that tune you were humming?" Sapphire asked as gently as she could. "It was lovely…"

Humming? Oh… "That was… a lullaby I used to sing to Marigold. I never knew the words, but the tune always put her to sleep without fail. I don't even know if it has a name."

Yang looked contemplative, then had a very serious face as she said, [That was a song you were working on before we were separated… back home. I remember hearing you hum it back then.]

Light save her, things like this shouldn't be surprising her anymore! "Did I… ever finish it? Or title it?"

[Not that I know of.]

Only after the awkward pause that followed did Snow notice something – two new items sitting in Blake's lap.

"Velvet grabbed the things Yang picked up while you were… out of it…" Blake mentioned. She picked up the leather pouches from her lap, ones that were normally attached to the blonde's belt. They looked full.

[Give her the smaller one first,] Yang buzzed.

The smaller of the two pouches held an item that instantly lifted Snow's mood – her compass. "Oh, Yang… this is… what made you pick this up?" She knew she was smiling broadly as she looked over the item.

Snow's reaction seemed to be different than what Yang expected, as the blonde was a bit thrown off, [Uh… well… just a hunch, really. I figured it might be another keepsake, if nothing else.]

"Yang… this compass was the first present Sam ever gave me. It's almost as valuable to me as my ring! Thank you so much!" She sniffed a bit as a few tears snuck out.

The bronze casing, the needle that always pointed _just_ slightly to the side of true North… She definitely had a few memories connected to this thing. In fact, it was the very item that rescued her from the very first time she went out sailing on her own – and promptly got lost. A keeper for sure.

Blake handed her the other pouch, which was packed full of wood carvings. Snow chuckled to herself as she pulled them out, admiring them one by one. And almost drowning in the nostalgia.

"Wow… I suppose I don't need to ask why you grabbed _these…"_

Each carving was on a piece of mahogany, a wood common to the area around her house. Each piece was oval in shape, and three of the four were dusty but undamaged. These were actually some of the first carvings she'd made, back when Sam had gone of his first voyage after the house was complete. And she was bored at the time.

Each carving displayed the name and emblem of the members of team RWBY – Yang Xiao Long with a burning heart, Blake Belladonna with a three-petal flower, Weiss Schnee with a snowflake, and…

"Wait… why is this one broken?" Snow asked with a frown. The last piece in the stack was only half there – the half with the name was gone.

[That's just how I found it. The other half was nowhere to be seen, and I looked everywhere.]

Snow ran her thumb over the rose emblem, muttering, "…Ruby Rose…"

Suddenly there was the sound of a chair sliding… and Sapphire stood up and staggered for the door without looking at anybody. _"Excuse me…"_ she whispered. She was out of the room a moment later, her face far more pale than Snow had ever seen it before.

…?

The only thing that kept Snow in her seat was Blake, who offered to go after the woman in her stead. Something had bothered Sapphire. Something… major.

Every single motherly instinct in Snow's heart was demanding that she go and make it right, whatever it was. Sapphire was her friend, possibly her best friend, and it was physically painful to watch her suffer.

Blake didn't get very far, though – she only peeked out the door and said, "Velvet caught up to her… they're talking now, at the end of the hall…"

"Well that's good news," Snow sighed with relief. If there was anyone who could diffuse this situation, it was the rabbit faunus.

Both Blake and Snow finished their glasses of water as they waited. It was an agonizing few minutes, but soon enough…

"Snow?" Velvet poked her head into the room, "Sapphire needs to talk to you. Alone. I unlocked room 501 for you guys to use; she's waiting in there for you."

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Sapphire Schnee was, indeed, waiting in room 501… but her normal attitude and demeanor were totally absent. The woman was busy muttering to herself and pacing in front of the window, but thankfully she wasn't in danger of hitting anything – the room was currently unused and empty. The woman looked ready to start punching holes in the wall, to be honest.

"Did I say something to offend you?" Snow tried to keep her tone mild, but her worry was growing by the minute.

Sapphire finally stopped pacing and stared full into Snow's eyes… and the older woman looked _haunted._ There was no other word for it. Like she'd just found out exactly when and how she was going to die.

"Do you remember anything we talked about… before? About our families, our childhoods… anything?"

"I'm sorry to say this, but I don't. I was lucky to remember that song we sang."

"I'm adopted."

Snow took a moment to remember to keep breathing. That was rather sudden. "You're sure…?"

"Mother told me herself, back around the time my sister was born. I'll never forget it. She told me… that she and Father were searching for suitable children to raise, so they could leave the Company in good hands. They were having trouble… having children…"

Snow stood silently, absorbing every word, observing every movement of the woman in front of her. Sapphire was pouring her heart out, growing more distressed with every minute that passed.

"They found me in a run-down orphanage in the northern part of Atlas. They apparently saw something they liked, so they adopted me and changed my name to Sapphire. I don't remember any of it, but she said that I was very quiet and… distant… when they found me."

Changed her name? She wasn't called Sapphire to begin with?

"The day Mother told me all of this, she also gave me something… … … an item I apparently had with me when the people at the orphanage first found me wandering the snowy wastelands alone… … …"

The tension in the room was growing out of control. Snow was having a hard time catching her breath.

"A broken piece of mahogany wood… … … with a name carved on it."

Everything seemed to stop at once… time, light, air, everything. Even Snow's heart forgot to keep beating for what seemed like an hour.

 _What… did she just say?_

In defiance of the time warp, Sapphire rapidly undid the top part of her uniform jacket and pulled her token free from beneath it. She gently placed it directly into Snow's hands, clutching it like her life depended on it.

Snow could barely hold onto the item as she let her eyes wander down to it, and she beheld a wondrous sight.

In her hands was the other half of Ruby Rose's carving.

A hole had been drilled into the unbroken side to allow Sapphire to string it over a strip of leather, but there was no mistaking Snow's own craftsmanship.

Sapphire's voice wavered a bit as she said, "I've had this… with me… for nearly my entire life."

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

Carmine stared in stunned silence at the screen. It was rare for the results of a search to leave her speechless, but this… this was totally unexpected. The Mad Scientist stood up to leave, but found herself stopped by her wife.

"What's your hurry?" Velvet asked with a small smile.

"You see those results, right?" Carmine pointed back at the screen and the undeniable proof. "I need to tell Snow."

Her exit was held back by Velvet's outstretched hand, but before the redhead could protest… she noticed that her wife's gaze was off to one side, looking into the distance.

"It's alright… she knows."

… _  
_… … … _  
_…

 _I've had this with me for nearly my entire life._

Found in the northern wastelands of Atlas.

Marigold was sent through a portal to an unknown world, never to be seen again.

 _I've had this with me for nearly my entire life._

No memories from before the orphanage.

Member of the Schnee family by blood.

 _Nearly my entire life._

In possession of a broken piece of mahogany that had been lost in space and time.

Red hair. Silver eyes.

Red-gold hair. Steel-gray eyes.

Melanin changes as you approach adulthood. Trauma can affect eye color.

 _I've had this with me for nearly my entire life._

"…Snow? …Please say something."

Sapphire's desperate whisper shattered the shorter girl's train of thought, bring her crashing back down to reality. Her eyes felt dry… likely due to the way she'd been staring in disbelief for nearly a full minute.

"…" Snow's mouth moved, but nothing came out.

For the first time since her mind started rebelling against itself, Snow looked at Sapphire… _really_ looked at her… and saw something incredible. Unbelievable. Impossible.

Beyond the color of the hair was the style and direction it grew. Beyond the color of the eyes was the distinct shape of the eyelids and eyebrows. The angle of the nose. The tilt of the mouth. The point of the chin.

Without any control of herself, Snow's hands reached forward and took Sapphire's face, turning it this way and that. She couldn't stop herself from examining the woman before her at every possible angle.

Impossible.

Simply impossible.

And yet… here it was, right in front of her.

Snow's throat was well and truly locked up as she released Sapphire's face and took a step backwards, then another. She covered her gaping mouth with one hand. Sapphire didn't dare move from her current position.

The next word that came out of Snow's mouth was barely a whisper, yet it had the power to completely destroy nearly every preconceived idea she'd had about the woman in front of her.

"…

"… …

"… … … _Lovebug…?"_

Sapphire's bottom lip trembled once, twice, as her eyes started glimmering with tears. Sapphire, a woman who could teach any man about how to act tough, a woman who could probably rip a Grimm's head from it's shoulders with her bare hands… was trembling like a frightened child.

The woman's response was nearly as quiet as Snow's word, but what she said echoed past the door, down the halls and into the unthinkable distance of the universe.

"…

"… …

"… … … _Mama…?"_

Gone was the hardened woman of the Atlas Military. In her place was a sobbing little girl who needed a hug.

Unlike their previous embrace, Sapphire was the one doing the most crying this time. Snow was weeping as well, but neither of them were shedding tears of sadness or sorrow – these were tears of the purest joy. Unthinkable relief. Unimaginable happiness.

For nearly two decades, Sapphire Schnee had been searching for the truth, for answers. For her birth mother.

Snow Rosewood had been convinced that she would never see her daughter again. Or if she did, that there would never be a true reunion.

But the truth was, she had nothing to worry about. Snow had never actually lost Marigold.

She'd been standing right next to her the entire time.

…

…

…

…

…

… … …

… … … … …

 _Carmine's Lab_

…

They delayed the next transport for an additional day… to let everyone catch their breath.

Only Carmine, Snow and Sapphire were present when Sapphire went home. Blake stayed out of it. She felt like she had no place anywhere near those two – the very _idea_ of their true relationship was so… so… _unreal._

Sapphire made it back to her own world, and Snow showed Blake and Yang a picture she took of herself and Sapphire with her scroll. They shared a long hug after that. Snow was likely going to be shaken up for quite a long time.

…

"Okay, so here's the deal…" Carmine said in a steady voice, just putting the final touches on the program as she stood up to address the travelers. "I've pulled up the information on each of the worlds you guys are going today. Are there any… problems with that?"

She and Blake made eye contact, but the cat faunus didn't allow herself to glare. She simply said, "No."

The Mad Scientist nodded, "Good. Snow, I'm sending you on a special mission to Remnant-3792. That's Magister Ruby's world… but I doubt you remember her very well…"

"Unfortunately I don't," the former heiress sighed. At least her mood had lifted after the dramatic turn of events these last few days.

"That's okay… I'm sure _she'll_ remember you. That world uses magic instead of Dust or Aura, but both of those will still function normally for you. And if you're worried about having to do any fighting, relax – I specifically chose a very stable point further along the timeline. They just finished a pretty big battle, and you'll arrive right after."

"What's the mission?"

"I'm sending it to your scroll now…" Carmine typed out a few more lines on her console. Snow's scroll beeped a moment later. "You'll be assisting the Magister on one or two things, then taking it easy for a bit. Have her read that information when you arrive and she'll take it from there."

Snow nodded, seemingly satisfied, "Alright."

"Blake," Carmine continued without missing a beat, "There's another trace signature of 1802 energy I'm sending you after…"

The brunette's eyes widened with a sudden realization, "Oh, yeah… I forgot about that. Shouldn't I go back to Rosey's world and get the-"

"Not to worry," Carmine interrupted, "… _That_ energy signature is gone."

"Um… what?"

"Shortly after you and Rosey arrived, I noticed the scans – the energy that _was_ in that world vanished right as you left. And after nosing around a bit, I found out why."

Carmine pulled a book from a pile on her desk, this one old and well-worn. Blake could have spotted the cover from a mile away, though… it was one of her favorite titles. _The Man With Two Souls._ One of the two books she'd brought with her from Rosey's world.

"It was this," Carmine stated.

"So _that's_ where it w-w-went…" A new voice spoke from the doorway as Rosey the Faunus Ruby suddenly appeared. Her hair was a bit bedraggled, but she looked fully recovered. "Thought I l-lost it…"

As soon as Blake heard that voice, she turned and smiled brightly before embracing the shorter girl in a hug, "Hey, you… welcome back. How are you feeling?"

Rosey replied, "A bit s-s-sleepy, but g-good." She chuckled and held the hug a little longer before separating herself. She then turned to Carmine and said, "C-C-Can I have my b-book b-b-back, p-please?"

"Certainly," the older woman replied with a warm smile of her own. "But first… may I see the bookmark? _That's_ actually what set off my scanners…"

Rosey took the book with a tilted head, perplexed, but complied with only a little hesitation. She opened her book and plucked out a card that Blake was certain she'd never see again.

It was a large card that depicted a robed figure, standing on a massive broken clock face, with the words _The Eternal_ written along the bottom.

There was no question… _it was the same card._

Carmine was looking at Blake as she said, "The look on your face tells me you know this card… and that there's a story behind it."

 _No shit, Sherlock._

It took Blake about five minutes to tell the story of them getting the cards on that long-ago day, right before Carmine walked into their lives. She managed to remember what all of the cards looked like, though one or two were a bit fuzzy in her memory.

Carmine took it all in, her face a picture of scientific fascination. "I would love to have all of these mysterious 'cards' in my hands… and I have _no doubt_ they were planted, if this one's appearance is anything to go by. In fact, I can use this one here to narrow down my search – having one of the cards here will let me refine my scans to differentiate which energy is from the other cards and which is not…"

Rosey had already wandered out of the room with her book and a replacement bookmark while Carmine was on her rant. Snow and Blake simply had to wait for the Mad Scientist to run out of steam.

"Oh, yes… almost forgot. Blake, the world I'm sending you into has no Grimm, no active wars, and no major trouble to speak of. It has a fairly high technology level and a working CCT Network. Dust functions normally, along with your semblance. Did I miss anything?"

Keeping her face clear, Blake replied, "No, that works."

"Excellent. Blake, platform 1. Snow, platform 2. You know the drill by now – no longer than 1 year, only five minutes pass here while you're gone, blah blah blah…"

The black and white pair each took their place on the designated platforms, silently adjusting their respective weapons and equipment. Blake noticed Snow taking her ring off and stowing it in a pocket, so she said, "That's probably unnecessary – it won't go anywhere when we transport."

Snow simply gave her a light smile and replied, "I'd rather not take the chance."

"Fair enough."

By this point, Blake had become used to the sight of the blue-green light that engulfed them. As before, the machine made almost no noise as it powered up and sent them away to their fates.

\\_…_/

\\_/

"No offense, Miss… Belladonna, was it…? But I expected someone a little older."

The woman before her was, once again, the spitting image of Ruby Rose – this time she looked to be in her 20s, with her hair tied into a short ponytail. She wore clothes that indicated a profession of digging in the dirt.

"I suppose it's no big deal… just don't fall behind. If you can't pull your weight around here then you won't last long."

And indeed, that was the very scene Blake had appeared in. There were shovels and pickaxes everywhere. Thankfully for the brunette, this Ruby was very trusting and eager to guess where Blake had come from – so now Blake was the new 'assistant' to the young archeology professor.

This Ruby, along with her team of workers, was camped out in a jungle-looking environment at the foot of a mountain. Within walking distance was a set of elaborately carved stone doors, built into the very side of the rock. Where they led was anybody's guess, and Ruby and her team were preparing to find out that very thing.

And after a quick and discreet check of her scroll, Blake confirmed the dismal truth – the 1802 energy signature was coming from somewhere past those doors. Oh goody.

"Also, I hope you're not squeamish about old-world curses."

"Uhh… curses? Why…?"

The older woman grinned, a look that belonged on Yang, "Because this tomb is supposed to be cursed by an undead queen… and _filled_ with archeological treasures! I can't _wait_ to get in there!"

\\_…_/

\\_/

Snow honestly didn't know what to expect when she arrived, but finding herself in front of a building that looked just like the Beacon Academy she had just left was… a bit anticlimactic.

She had expected a floating castle, at the least. Wasn't this world supposed to be 'magical?'

Before even taking one step, Snow pulled out her ring and put it on. She breathed a faint sigh of relief that it made the trip with her unscathed.

She then yanked her hair free of that irritating side-ponytail. A side effect of that 'persistent status' thing Carmine talked about was that apparently her hair was going to automatically return to that style each time she transported. Annoying. At least it was an easy fix.

"Well," a new voice spoke from behind Snow, that of a young man, "you _clearly_ aren't a Black Mage… are you some sort of courier?"

Giving her hair a quick straightening, Snow turned to find herself looking at a young man with blonde hair standing next to a young woman with blue hair that featured pure white sideburns. Both looked eerily familiar, but there was no way to know why.

The young woman, however, seemed to recognize Snow – her eyes went wide as her jaw dropped.

" _G-G-Grandmother?!"_

… … … … …

… … …

…

* * *

 **A/N: Just a reminder, PLEASE don't spoil anything. I have personally seen stories on this site that were spoiled by one or two reviewers, and I really want to avoid that. Other than the above, I welcome any and all feedback – I've put a lot of work into this story, and I can safely say that I'm about halfway through it. Maybe.**

 **Next chapter: Will Blake be more like Lara Croft or Indiana Jones? Stay tuned to find out!**

 **=^w^=**


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